Hear No Evil
by maravelous
Summary: AU; A man born a wolf, it is feared, may become a mouse. A woman born a bird, it is feared, may become a dragon. — NejiTen
1. It Started With a Push

Hello everyone! :)  
**For those that don't know me**, it's very nice to meet you, I am _xmarachanx_, you can go ahead and clicky on my name up there to check out my profile and learn more about me! But for now, I am very thankful you are reading my story. -bows- :D  
**For those that know me**, hello again! Yes, here it is, yet another story! Thanks so much for being here, it's nice to see you again! x)  
**For everyone**, I'd just like you to know that this is going to be based off of _The Game of Life_(one of my past projects that is currently completed and probably my favorite of my ideas), but it's not going to be _exactly_ like it. Actually, the plot is pretty different. But the character's personalities are going to be pretty much the same, and so is the basic idea. But don't worry, this is totally original in itself!  
Now please read it up! ;)  
Enjoy!

**X**X**X**X**X**

**T**he door opened.

A boy, hidden by the darkness of the room, sat in a leather swivel chair at a desk in the corner. Another boy entered, and he looked up and turned the chair around to face him. "Hyuuga." he greeted him in a deep, amused voice.

"Uchiha." the other boy said back in a velvety smooth voice of his own, standing, hidden as well, in the shadows of the room. "We have some things to go over. Naruto informed me that-"

"Who said my name, who said my name?!" Another boy bounded into the room. "Sasuke, Neji, what are you talking about?!"

Neji exhaled slowly. "I'm telling Uchiha about what you told me, Naruto."

"And that would be?" Sasuke asked, sounding annoyed at Naruto's sudden unwanted appearance.

"There are, apparently, three new students that just transferred here."

"Ah. Male or female?"

"Female, all of them."

"Where do they come from?"

"Naruto said they came from Kiri. I hear it's a pretty nice place, fairly wealthy."

"Why would they move _here_ from such a nice place?"

"I don't know, we'll have to look into that. I just thought I'd inform you, is all."

"Thank you. That was needed."

Neji was silent for a bit, then he sighed. "Trying to snag them before anyone else does, Uchiha?" Neji asked with the air of accusing Sasuke of something.

Naruto laughed. "That's so obvious, though!" he said

Sasuke chuckled. "You make them sound like fish, Hyuuga." he said with mirth in his voice.

Neji turned his back on Sasuke and Naruto. "The way you act, they're nothing more." And with that, he exited the room, and the door closed.

**H**e**a**r** N**o** E**v**i**l  
_See no evil. Speak no evil._

**D**i**s**c**l**a**i**m**e**r**: **Oh emm eff gee, I don't own Naruto. :)  
**S**o**n**g**: **_Hide and Seek_ by _Imogen Heap_ :)

**C**h.** O**n**e** - It Started With A Push

_Where are we?  
What the hell is going on?  
The dust has only just begun to form  
Crop circles in the carpet  
Sinking feeling_

**T**e**n**T**e**n

"I can't _believe_ she's blaming it on me!" I muttered angrily under my breath.

I was walking along the brilliantly lit, sunny sidewalk of Konoha, my new home town, on Sunday, holding a soccer ball under my right arm and glaring at my shoes, a pair of scuffed, dirty red converse under some simple jeans and a tight crimson tee-shirt that hugged my body.

I was taking a walk to the park near my new house that I now shared with my two best friends, Sakura and Hinata, and had been kicking that soccer ball around to vent my frustration at Sakura. She was blaming _me_ for this mess?! What had I done?! _I_ was the one protecting them!

I could still remember how it all began, with that simple push…

"_Get out of my way." With one shove, Sakura and Hinata, my two freshman best friends, were sent stumbling out of the way of three senior boys pushing through the hall, and slammed into the wall. Sakura, recovering, quickly checked to see if Hinata was alright, while the three boys made their way past them as if they had swatted at thin air. None of them noticed me, right behind them down the hall._

"_Hey! You punks had better apologize!"_

_They all turned to see me. Hinata bit her lip and Sakura said, "TenTen, don't." but I ignored them, glaring at the culprits that had hurt my best friends._

_The boys snickered. "And what if we don't?"_

_My response, as I advanced and cracked my knuckles, was not pretty._

After they found the beaten, unconscious bodies of the three seniors, the office called me and the other two down and informed us that, for the school's own sake and reputation, we were being transferred to Konoha to live out the rest of our high school lives together in a house. It was, after all, only the Friday of the first week of school, which happened to be last Friday. Now it was Sunday, and tomorrow, Monday, obviously, me and my sisters would have to go to our first day of the horrible Konoha High School, with one of the worst reps for trouble out there.

Now that might have seemed harsh, but that wasn't the first or last time that something like that had happened. People would always gang up on me, Hinata, and Sakura, and I had recently gotten sick of it and decided to just take action. And me taking action usually included mindless violence.

"Damn it! I can't _believe_ this!" I yelled furiously. It was only the first day in our new house, and the stress of it all had ticked me off to the limit. I kicked the soccer ball with all my strength, and it flew away. But then I remembered how much the thing had cost me, and my eyes grew big. "Not good!"

I took off running after it as it rolled down the hill and down into the street. I didn't see cars coming, and I was almost going to run into the street and get squashed by them like a bug, when I skidded to a halt.

A terribly handsome boy that looked about my age with long, coffee brown hair that was tied at the bottom stood across the street, his back to me, one of his brown Vans stopping the ball effortlessly. He was wearing somewhat simple cloths; a dark brown shirt that hugged his muscles, and ripped jeans. He turned his face to look over his shoulder, and I found something surprising; a pair of two, lovely, pearly white eyes that were horribly familiar set into his pale, attractive features. "This yours?" he asked in a monotone. His voice was velvety, deep, and as smooth as butter…

I gulped when I realized my throat was a bit clogged up suddenly. "Uh…yeah…" I said. Meanwhile, my mind was spinning. Those eyes could only mean one thing…

"Here." He kicked the ball over to me, and I caught it easily in my hands, not flinching, but staring at him.

"Um…thanks."

"Whatever." With that he turned his back on me and walked away. And I took one turn on my heel and ran for it back to the house.

**x**x**x**x**x**

"I'm home!" I yelled impatiently, bursting through the door of the house and removing my shoes, throwing the soccer ball aside.

The first room I entered was a small living room, a sofa and a coffee table at it and a television in the corner. Half of this room was also a kitchen, separated from the room by a small counter with three bar stools at it. There were numerous packets of chips and food on the counter. There were cabinets and drawers for dishes and silver ware, and a refrigerator as well in the tiny kitchen, but that was about it, simply enough. There was a storage closet for cleaning supplies and things like that, a door that led to the bathroom, and a door that led to the bedroom, leading out of this room. It wasn't that big of a place, but better than my old apartment that I used to live in by myself back in Kiri. I lived by myself since I turned fourteen and was allowed out of the orphanage, where I was dropped off at the age of six when both of my parents were killed in a car accident in front of my eyes.

Coming out of that bedroom door was Sakura Haruno. She had long, silky pink hair and emerald green eyes. She was always bossy and always stuck to the rules. She did what _she_ thought was right. But when she had to be, she could be really sweet and kind and loving and all those things. Her greatest dream in life was to become a doctor. She used to live with her mother when we were in Kiri, but not anymore… "TenTen, what are you yelling for? What's the problem?" she asked with a frown on her face, green eyes narrowed.

Hinata came out after her. She had long, violet-blue hair and pearly white eyes trademark to the Hyuuga family, which was what I was concerned about currently. She was absolutely adorable, even if she was pretty shy, and she was basically like the housewife in this new 'family' type gang. She was great at cooking and cleaning and taking care of us, and she always knew what to say. She lived with the Hyuuga family in the gigantic manor that belonged to her father, Hiashi, the head of the family, until we moved here. "Did something happen?" she asked me, immediately concerned at my face.

I nodded and walked over. "Hinata, I ran into a boy in the street that has the same exact eyes as you!" I said excitedly. "I think he's a Hyuuga! I really do! Do you know who it is?!"

She looked confused at this. "TenTen-nee-san, I don't remember any of my family moving here. Are you sure he had the same eyes as the Hyuuga's…?" she asked shyly.

"Well, yeah, I'm totally-!"

"You might be seeing things, TenTen." Sakura said, rolling her eyes. "Or maybe the dude's blind."

"No! He stopped my soccer ball, he saw it coming! I know he's a Hyuuga!"

"Would you calm down already?!" Sakura snapped at me. "Listen, I don't think it's anything to be worried about, okay? And even if it is a Hyuuga, then we'll probably see them around or at school or something and we can worry about it then."

"Well, okay…But I just thought it would be exciting, that's all." I tried to sound as disappointed as I could.

"Geeze, when you say that it makes me feel like I should be jumping for joy." Sakura said sarcastically.

Hinata giggled. "It is exciting, TenTen, don't worry. I'm interested in meeting him."

I smiled at her generous gesture. "Thanks, I guess. Well, are we finished packing?"

"Yeah, we finished since _you_ can't pack for yourself!" Sakura said, glaring at me. "And now Hinata's going to make us lunch. I would tell you to help, but I remember the last time you helped her cook."

I could remember too. It was the equivalent of a forest fire in one kitchen. I laughed nervously. "Good idea." But I couldn't help but have a strange feeling about that boy I'd run into earlier…

**S**a**k**u**r**a

"Iwish you'd listen to me more often, TenTen! Then we wouldn't be in this mess!" I snapped as we drove to school in her rusty black pickup truck the next day. I had spent fifteen minutes of the morning trying to get her to wake up as Hinata cooked us breakfast, and we had ended up late. Now I sat in the passenger seat, Hinata in the back, and TenTen in the drivers seat, all of us in our new uniforms, which consisted of a white button up collared shirt, green striped tie, green plaid skirt, green stockings that went up a little below the knee, and the usual school shoes.

"Oh shut up, Sakura, I got to sleep late last night because you just _had_ to give me and Hinata a lecture about being responsible for an hour and half!" she snapped. Always the immature one, that TenTen. I was constantly having to lecture her as if I was her sister instead of her best friend, even though she was a year older than me and Hinata. At the moment her chocolate brown hair that matched her eyes was up in the usual twin buns she always wore on top of her head. She said she liked it because it kept the hair out of her eyes. I said I liked it because, even though it was childish, it was cute on her, and showed off her pretty face. And it also made her look like a panda, which was my nickname for her; 'Panda-chan'.

"Well so_rry_, for trying to keep us _out_ of trouble this year." I said, huffing and crossing my arms, shifting my brown, one-shoulder-strap school bag that was identical to TenTen's and Hinata's on my lap. We were not only required to wear that uniform but carry around the same bag.

I stared out of the window, watching the scenery. Konoha was actually a nice looking place. Trees and green grass everywhere, the occasional shrubbery lining someone's lawn. I watched it all flash by, putting a hand up to shade my eyes from the sunlight glinting in through the window, until TenTen gasped suddenly. "Is _this_ our school…?!"

I looked over, and we all stared out of the windshield at the school that TenTen was parking in the front parking lot of. It was a two story brown brick building. Graffiti was _everywhere_, and the bricks were chipping and the paint was peeling on the aging sign on the front lawn that stated the school's name in choppy, cheap letters: Konoha High School.

"Oh! I _knew_ we were in for it!" I cried dramatically, slumping against the window and hiding my face with my hand. "If this place's reputation wasn't enough, the appearance of the school just gave it away!"

"No, let's just calm down." Hinata said soothingly as I started to feel panic spread through me, sounding a little scared herself. TenTen parked in a spot and turned off the car, but none of us made any move to get out, and Hinata continued. "Looks can be deceiving. We don't know if they had bad weather recently or they don't have a lot of money or what. But we shouldn't be too scared, alright? Let's just walk in there confidently and set a semi-good impression."

TenTen and I glanced at each other uncertainly, but then both of us turned back to Hinata and nodded. We all took a deep breath and then opened the car doors and climbed out. TenTen locked the car behind us, and we turned to face our new school.

Other people were crowding in, all dressed in their uniforms and with the same brown bags that were required to carry. They were all different, had different hair styles and plain styles in general. And they were all hugging each other and laughing with each other and bragging with each other and just flaunting exuberant, overenthusiastic qualities that I didn't share. In other words, these kids looked like _freaks_ compared to where we used to live…

There were also the many kids leaning against the walls and puffing cigarettes while teachers entered the school with their over-stuffed bags and completely ignored them, as if nothing was going on.

I gulped. "Let's go…"

**x**x**x**x**x**

When we'd gotten into the school, we all had to split up to go to our individual homerooms. And finally I had gotten into my own. A silver haired man with a blue bandana covering half his face who was my new homeroom teacher, Kakashi-sensei, was seated at a desk, reading a little orange book, which, when I dared a quick glance at, read, 'Icha-Icha Paradise' on the cover. I immediately made a mental note to avoid this guy at all costs.

"New student?" he asked, barely glancing at me over his book.

"U-um, yeah." I said, shifting nervously.

He heaved a lazy sigh and looked up. "Are you one of the three transfer students?"

"Yes."

"Name?" he demanded.

"Sakura Haruno." I said, trying not to sound as scared as I actually was.

"Aa." He wrote it down on his attendance sheet and looked up at me again. "The only empty seat is between Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha." He looked over the class and yelled over all the chattering kids, "Naruto, Sasuke! Wave your hands so she can find her seat between you!"

I turned around and my eyes skimmed over the class to find in a corner a little blonde boy with laughing, cerulean blue eyes, waving like a maniac. Two seats behind him was probably the hottest boy I'd ever seen! I resisted the urge to gasp. He had pale skin and onyx black eyes, and his hair was dyed a raven blue and was styled strangely so it stuck up in the back a bit, long bangs framing his round face, which was drawn in annoyance at his blonde friend's excitement. He leaned over and yanked the blonde down into his seat, muttering, "Dobe."

I gulped and walked over to sit between them. I wondered if I should introduce myself, but I was saved that when the blonde twisted around in his seat and gave me a huge grin. "Hey! I'm Naruto! You're pretty hott!" Suddenly, his hand shot out…to my _chest_!

And _that_ was where I drew the line. I could put up with peeling paint and chipping bricks, I could put up with kids smoking out in front of the school, I could even put up with a lazy, perverted homeroom teacher, but _this_ I could _not_!

BAM!

I punched him right in the head, and he toppled onto his desk. "Wanna try that again…?" I asked dangerously over my fist clenched in front of me.

Normally I was a pretty mellow person, sure! I stuck to the rules, I was pretty timid. But when I got pissed, I would _not_ let someone go without a fight!

I punched my palm. "Don't _ever_ try to grope me! Got it?!" I asked him furiously.

"Y-Yes!" Naruto moaned, holding onto his head.

"Good!" I suddenly noticed half the class staring at me, their mouth's hanging open. I blushed bright red. "S-S-Sorry!" I squeaked, and I sat down in a flash and hung my head. That is, until I heard laughing behind me. I twisted around and glared at so called Sasuke, who was trying to stifle his snickers with his hand.

"That was hilarious!" he managed to blurt out. "Who the hell are you, some girl from Gai's class?"

I frowned. "I don't know who you're talking about. I'm new here."

He stopped laughing immediately. "You're one of the transfer students?!" he asked, his eyes widening.

I nodded simply and turned around again, crossing my arms grouchily. This was _not_ the way to start the school year.

**H**i**n**a**t**a

"Ah!" I fell backwards and landed on the ground. It was lunch, and I was on my way to the cafeteria where I would hopefully meet Sakura and TenTen, but suddenly someone running down the halls had slammed into me, sending me to the ground, my new books that I had just gotten tumbling out of my arms.

"Ah! Gomen!" Suddenly a hand shot out and grabbed my books from the air, gathering them in someone's arms.

I looked up at the culprit. He was a young, blonde, blue eyed boy that I had never seen before. His eyes widened as he caught sight of me. "Wow…" he said quietly, his eyes seeming to glaze over. Then he shook his head and held out a hand quickly. "I'm really, really sorry, I was just going so fast and-!"

I took his hand gently, still a little bewildered, and let him pull me up. "N-No, it's alright. It was my fault, really, I wasn't paying attention."

"Are you kidding?!" He suddenly started dusting me off with one hand, my books towering in his other one. "It was my fault, really!"

"So right, Naruto. Dobe." Another boy came up behind him, hands in his pockets, smirking a bit. He had raven blue hair and onyx eyes. He looked me over and seemed to decide he didn't really care about me.

Naruto glared at him. "Shut up, Sasuke-teme!"

"Would both of you shut up? I don't want to see you fight." Suddenly another boy came up, and I froze. He looked familiar. Dreadfully familiar. He stopped in front of us and looked at Naruto. "Naruto, who did you run into this time? Was it…?" His voice trailed away when he caught sight of me, and his eyes grew huge.

"I don't know who it is." Naruto said. He turned to me and grinned. "Hey, you want me to carry your books for you? These are really heav…Hey, wait, where are you going?!"

I didn't even listen to him. I had just turned on my heel and ran for it.

**T**e**n**T**e**n

"TenTen, Sakura!"

"Oh, Hinata, there you are." Sakura said, both of us smiling as she ran up to us, alone at a table in the cafeteria. However, our smiles vanished as we saw her horrified face.

"Hinata, what's wrong?" Sakura demanded.

"Tell me who did it, I'll take care of em." I said immediately.

"No, nothing, it's just…TenTen, I know who you're talking about, the member of my family that's here!"

"What?!"

"You do?" I asked, leaning forward as she sat down next to me. "Long brown hair, right?"

"Yes! It's my cousin, Neji-nii-san! He ran away from the Hyuuga family when we were younger, I had no idea he'd come _here_! He must have come because it was so unexpected, no one would have guessed…"

"Wow, really?" I asked. "That's really cool! Wait, did you say his name's Neji?"

"Yes."

"Dude!" I gaped at her. "He's in my homeroom!"

"He is?!"

"Yeah! But he wasn't there today. I sit behind him and in front of this dude named Rock Lee that keeps going on about youth!"

"…Youth?" Sakura asked, raising an eyebrow. She shrugged and took a sip of her Coke. "This school is full of weirdoes. I was in between a guy named Sasuke, who's just kind of dark and creepy, and a guy named Naruto, who's the total opposite and kind of freakish."

Hinata gasped. "Oh no!"

"What is it now?" Sakura asked.

"It's just, I ran into Naruto in the hall, and he caught all my books before they fell…and he still has them, because Neji and Sasuke came up, and when I saw Neji-nii-san, I…I ran…"

I groaned. "Just great. Our first day in this place and _this_ has to happen!"

**x**x**x**x**x**

"Don't worry, Hinata." Sakura scolded her gently as I drove us home after school was finally over. We had met in the parking lot in front of the school again, and Hinata hadn't seen Naruto again the entire day. Neither had Sakura, and I didn't know what he looked like, but I still kept my eyes and ears open, and I hadn't seen a sign of him either. "For the last time, I'm going to ask him tomorrow in homeroom, and you'll have your books back just in time! I promise!"

"You're _sure_?" Hinata asked timidly… "I mean, what if he keeps them?"

I snorted. "For what, money? Why would he do that? From what you've both said, he doesn't seem the type. Sakura will just ask him politely and it'll all be okay."

"Alright…I'm sorry…" Hinata said sadly.

"Don't worry, Hinata-chan, it's alright!" Sakura said quickly.

I smiled. "Yeah, Hinata, we don't mind! It's not your fault! Oh, we're home guys."

Sakura sighed as I stopped in front of our house and we all opened up the door. "My first day in our new school…God, this is the worst day of my life…"

"No. This is just the worst _town_ of your life." I corrected her glumly, and she didn't protest, as was usual for her, but just nodded in agreement as we collected our things and slammed the truck's door's shut.

Little did we know that it was even worse than we could imagine.

This was just the beginning.

**X**X**X**X**X**

No kidding, right? x)  
lolz. Ok, so as you can see, this story is going to be somewhat like The Game of Life, but _better_! That's right, I'm taking things to the _next level_! Get it…? Sorry, that was lame… -.-;  
Re-read & Edited while listening to: _Dropped_ by _Phantom Planet_. :D  
Love it? Like it? Dislike it? Hate it? Don't care about it? Review it! ;)  
I would like: oh, let's say 20? :)  
thanks for reading!  
xmarachanx


	2. Illusions

Hey guys!  
Thanks so much to the following:  
SparkyCasper, Uchiha, Nami, Hikoru, Aniki, ShinobiXAngel, kimiko77, tentenXshikamaru, DarkAnimeAngel13, XxXPippinXxX, HisEyesMyName-AmBeR159, Pnkrockninja101, Shikyo no Amatsu Shinsei, sakura's twin954, KuriousK8D, Youkai Koneko, The-Trapped-Pheonix  
You guys rock! I got 10 more than I expected! :D I don't know why people read a story and don't review…review next time, all you evil lurkers! :(  
Enjoy!

**X**X**X**X**X**

**H**e**a**r** N**o** E**v**i**l  
_See no evil. Speak no evil._

**D**i**s**c**l**a**i**m**e**r**: **Oh emm eff gee, I don't own Naruto. :)  
**S**o**n**g**: **_Hide and Seek_ by _Imogen Heap_ :)

**C**h.** T**w**o** - Illusions

_Spin me round again  
And rub my eyes,  
This can't be happening  
When busy streets a mess with people  
Would stop to hold their heads - heavy_

**T**e**n**T**e**n

"Well I think I'm gonna burn in hell…" I sang along under my breath, toweling my hair. I had just gotten out of the shower and I was singing along to the song House of Wolves by My Chemical Romance that was still stuck in my head as I exited the bathroom, now dressed in my uniform but my hair wet and down. I rapidly tousled my hair as I closed the bathroom door with a stocking-ed foot, letting just a bit of steam from the humidity of the shower escape into the living room. I noticed Sakura and Hinata, both ready to go, surprisingly to me, gathering their things. They both looked up at me and stared.

I inhaled deeply as I let them stare at me, meanwhile dropping the towel to the floor where it landed with a semi-damp thump and twisting my hair into buns using the hair-ties around my wrist. I could still smell the pancakes, but what was weird was that there weren't any sitting on the counter on a china plate where Hinata usually placed them. "What's up?" I asked when I'd had enough of their staring. "Where's breakfast? Why are you ready so early?"

Sakura's face slowly turned to one of horror, and Hinata sighed, exasperated. "TenTen…it's time to go. You're going to make us late."

"Huh? What are you talking about?" I glanced over at the digital clock on the right wall and gazed at it in surprise. 8:00 am. gleamed at me in bright green. I let it sink in for a while, then,

"HOLY SHIT!"

"Yeah." Hinata said as Sakura groaned furiously. "So please hurry up, TenTen-nee-chan…"

"WHY DIDN'T YOU GUYS WARN ME?! SHIT, SHIT, SHIT, WE'RE GONNA BE _LATE_!"

"YOU IDIOT, PANDA!"

"OH SHUT UP, SAKURA!"

**x**x**x**x**x**

"Alright, girls, so it's the second day of school. You know what that means." Sakura said from the passenger seat as I drove us to school, finally ready to go.

I tried to resist speeding to get to school on time. There were three reasons I shouldn't, and I was going over them as I also tried to block out Sakura's droning. '_One, Sakura would kill me. Two, I'll get a ticket if I'm caught by the police. Three, I'd probably crash into someone…I __**do**__, like, totally __**suck**__ at driving after all…_'

"_TenTen_, are you _listening_ to me?!"

"Um…sure?" She gave me a look that said, '_That just gave it away_.', and I sighed. "Okay, no."

She sighed loudly. "Okay, then, I'll go over it again. Today is the second day of school, and you know what that means."

"I have no idea what that means, actually, forehead."

"Shut up, Panda! I was getting there! So we had a bad day at school yesterday, so you know what that means!"

"_No_ I _don't_!" I said loudly.

"Sakura…?" Hinata asked shyly from the back seat. "The point?"

Sakura groaned. "It _means_ that we're going to make this day better than the yesterday no matter what! Okay?! We're going to make the most out of this situation. Today's going to be _normal_!"

Hinata smiled as I pulled into the parking lot and into a secluded spot then turned off the car. "Sakura, this isn't the right time to say something like that when we're late."

"Nah. I don't think the teachers care. In this school, everyone's late, even the teachers themselves sometimes I bet, so basically everyone's on time." I said as I opened the door and dragged my bag out of the car, stuffing my keys in the front pocket of the bag and closing the door behind me.

"That's just confusing." Sakura muttered as she and Hinata closed their own doors and shouldered their bags. "But whatever, you have a point. Still, let's try to do this right, okay?" No more beating people up, _TenTen_, or failing classes, _TenTen_, or insulting people, _TenTen_…"

"Okay, okay, I get it! _I'll_ be _mellow_ this year, okay?" I asked as we walked up to the front of the school. We went through the front doors and into the main hall. As we walked through the main hall, it was basically the same as yesterday; people stared at us. Hinata gulped, and I narrowed my eyes. I knew she hated too much attention , especially hostile. And oh boy were we getting a lot of that. But it was expected, being the newest kids in school and sort of different looking. I let it go for just a bit until I'd had enough, and I spun around to face a group of kids pointing at us and muttering to themselves. "Oi! Take a picture, it'll last longer!" I yelled at them, glaring them down. They all looked surprised for a bit, then one of them stepped forward. She had short, dark blue hair that was styled unevenly.

"Ex_cuse_ me?" she asked in a low, whiny voice.

"You heard me. Or are you deaf? Oh, I'm sorry, I had no idea." I said sarcastically. "It's just, I don't think it's polite to stare at people as they're trying to walk down the hall. It makes them uncomfortable."

"TenTen, _stop_!" Sakura hissed. "What did we just talk about?! TenTen, get over here." I didn't move, just kept glaring at the blue haired girl. "TenTen…! TenTen…! TENTEN, I SAID GET OVER HERE, YOU BRAT!"

I jumped when she yelled and laughed sheepishly. "Okay, okay, calm down, Saki. I'm comin." I walked over, but glanced over my shoulder one more time and realized something. There was a raven-haired boy staring at us, leaning against a locker coolly, his arms crossed. I noticed someone else next to him, staring at us as well, and saw it was none other than Hinata's white-eyed, brown haired cousin, Neji Hyuuga. They both stared at me as Sakura yanked me along by the arm rambling about my stupidity and Hinata just giggled shyly, and I stared right back. But they both turned away when a blonde boy bounded over to both of them and started talking a mile a minute, and I turned away as well. There was a strange feeling around those boys, and I felt like their stares _implied _something. Like they were staring at us for a reason, and they were…following us. To make it short, I didn't like it…

**x**x**x**x**x**

I walked glumly into homeroom, expecting it to be as strange as yesterdays as I sat down in the same old seat. I sighed loudly, and only when the boy in front of me slowly turned did I realize who it was; Neji Hyuuga. He was actually _here_. I glared at him and opened my mouth to say something rude to him, but I was cut off when my suspicions about a strange homeroom proved true. Gai-sensei suddenly roared, "Youthful TenTen, the new student in class! You are here yet again! How are you enjoying this youthful school full of wonder and strength and youth?!"

"…Um…it's okay…?"

"Excellent!" This was followed by a rant of youth, with the occasional outburst from Gai's look-alike, Rock Lee, that sat behind me.

I groaned and sat in my seat, dropping my head into my crossed arms on the desk. "Somebody kill me…" I moaned.

"Keep talking like that around here and someone will be glad to." My head snapped up in surprise when I heard that voice again, smooth as velvet. Neji was looking down at me, his eyes uninterested. "Annoyed?"

I propped my chin in one hand. "Hm. For some reason it sounds like you're suddenly forcing yourself to be friendly." I said honestly.

"And you're admitting your thoughts to someone you barely know?"

"I say what I think and don't care what others do." Neji's lips twitched in what I thought must have been the resistance to laugh, and I felt satisfied. "Aren't you the one that stopped me from spending the rest of my life a vegetable in a wheelchair?"

"What…?"

"Never mind." He obviously didn't understand what I was getting at. But it was true, he was the one that stopped my soccer ball and stopped me from running into the street like an idiot. So I took the opportunity to ask him a question that had been bugging me for a while now. But for some reason…

"Do you know Hinata Hyuuga?" we both blurted out at the same time.

I blinked and laughed a bit. "I'll take that as a yes. So it's true, what she said, you really are her cousin."

"Yes. Are you going to answer my question? How do you know her, and what is she doing here?"

I was going to answer him, but Gai-sensei suddenly called, "TenTen, please take this pass down to Kakashi-sensei's room, room 7!"

I closed my mouth and shrugged it off. "None of your business." I stood, taking my bag and grabbing the pass from Gai, leaving the room, but the whole time I knew that he was staring after me. '_I wonder how Sakura and Hinata are doing…_' I thought distractedly.

**S**a**k**u**r**a

I took a deep breath to calm myself down, leaning against a locker outside of homeroom. Right when I thought I would make the second day of school a better one, I ended up _late_ to homeroom! '_Damn it…this is all TenTen's fault_!' I thought furiously as I pulled my bag onto my shoulder again where it had been slipping to the crook of my elbow.

"Heh. Tired, pink princess? What, did you run all the way here because you were so _excited_ to sit next to Sasuke-kun?"

My head snapped up in surprise and I stared at the same blue-haired girl from that morning, standing there with her arms crossed across her over-sized chest. Wow, not only was her chest over-sized, now that I thought about it, but so was her whole body. Not exactly the prettiest pixie in the world.

"Um…No. I'm late, that's why I ran." I said lamely.

"Really now? Why would you be so scared about being late?" she asked, her voice playfully high pitched.

"Well…I don't want to be a loser, do I?" I said, laughing nervously and trying to act cool.

It was a big mistake. Her face changed from one of humor to one of fury, and I felt my eyes widen. I had forgotten, _she_ was late too. "Ex_cuse_ me?! What are you implying?! That I'm a _loser_?! Even if that's the lamest name I've ever heard anyone call me, you don't seem to see your _place_! Want me to teach it to you, _huh_?!"

"Ami, leave the new girl alone." Me and the blue haired girl, who must be Ami, both turned, startled, to see…

"Sasuke-kun!" Ami gasped. He was walking up to us, hands in his pockets. Naruto was jumping up and down behind him, grinning like a maniac. "Sasuke-kun, what…what do you mean, _new girl_?! It doesn't matter if she's new, she still has to know where she stands! There aren't any exceptions!"

"Maybe for whores there aren't!" Naruto said, crossing his arms and smiling slyly. "Go on, get out of here!"

"Uzumaki, _what_ did you just call me?! You little brat!"

"Oh shut up and go to your class before you're forced to fuck your sensei so you don't get detention!" Naruto jeered.

Ami stormed off. I heard a loud clacking echo in the halls and noticed she was wearing heels. '_Prostitute…_' I realized. '_Oh my gosh…there are prostitutes at this school_!'

"Hn. God riddance." Sasuke muttered.

"You got it. That girl's _so_ annoying." Naruto said. He turned to look at me and grinned again. "Hey, Sakura Haruno, right?"

"Um…yes. Uh…" I glanced once at Sasuke then back to Naruto. "Thanks for…well…"

"She's no big deal." Sasuke said, shrugging, and he pushed past Naruto, yawning loudly. He stopped when neither of us followed him. "Well? Coming to class?" he asked, for some reason looking at me and not Naruto.

I was going to say yes, but then I remembered something and pointed a finger at Naruto. "You!"

"…Me…?" he asked, confused, staring cross-eyed at my finger.

"You stole Hinata-chan's books! Oh, and you know what? One of those books was a medical skills book, and that's not a good thing, because medical skills is the best subject ever! And I'm not saying that because I'm obsessed with the subject, okay?" I said angrily. He and Sasuke stared at me, and I sighed impatiently. "So…? What are you waiting for?! Give them to me, come on!" I ordered, putting a hand on my hip and laying my other hand palm up in front of him.

"Um…Hinata…? Oh! _Oh_!" Naruto's mouth peeled back to show brilliant white teeth as his eyes suddenly glazed over dreamily. "She was the real _cute_ one, right?! Neji said something about her but I forget what…"

I blocked the part about this _Neji_ out and nodded. "Yes, that's my Hinata-chan for you. She's cute. Now give me her books this instant or else!"

Sasuke snorted. "Or else _what_?"

I stared at him. This tough guy probably didn't take empty threats. So…

I smirked slyly. '_The only way to make my __**own**__ place in this school is to make sure those threats aren't empty at all…_' "Hand me that book." I demanded suddenly, pointing to a book lying uselessly on the ground at Naruto's feet.

Naruto raised an eyebrow but obeyed, handing me the book. My smirk widened, and I took one hand, then clenched a fist around the spine of the book, which crumpled immediately, completely destroyed, the cover and back of it falling off, the pages flying everywhere and littering the floor. Naruto's mouth dropped open, and Sasuke's eyes widened.

I grinned triumphantly. I had always had immense strength in my hands. It was almost a disorder. My mom had taken me to a doctor when I was little because of it, and they said I was lucky. Who would want to get rid of a disorder that could break someone's neck with one flick? So I didn't mind it, and I kept my strength with me through the years, which slowly increased.

"_Now_ will you do what I tell you?" I asked.

"S-S-Sure! Just don't do that to my _head_!" Naruto said, rummaging in his bag and pulling out Hinata's books, handing them to me in a big tower.

I smiled. "Thanks!" I said cheerfully, my mood changing immediately, and I walked with a new bounce in my step into homeroom. '_Heh. Maybe this place isn't that bad after all…I'm not really that much of a threat, of course. I'd never fight someone. But I know for sure people will stay away from me and TenTen and Hinata this year. As long as I keep giving them the illusion…_'

**x**x**x**x**x**

"…Does Kakashi-sensei ever get his head out of that book…?" I asked Sasuke and Naruto quietly as we watched Kakashi from our isolated corner of the room. We had just sat down, and I was already starting a conversation with them. Normal me, I guess.

"Nope." Naruto said. "He's pretty much obsessed with porn."

"Ugh…My teacher's a porn addict…that just ruined my day." I muttered.

"Get used to it, this school is full of em. And they're not just teachers." Sasuke said wisely.

I shuddered, imagining kids reading porn underneath their desks while they… '_No Sakura, don't think about it_!'

"Whew! I'm here!" My head snapped up when I heard a familiar voice.

"TenTen?!" I asked, surprised. Sasuke and Naruto looked over at TenTen walking into the room, still not noticing me, and over to Kakashi-sensei, handing him a pass. He grabbed it and thanked her, and she bowed, then suddenly she noticed me and grinned.

"Yo Saki!" She ran over and came to a halt, ignoring Naruto and Sasuke. "I didn't know you had this homeroom, forehead!"

"Don't call me that!" I growled, punching a palm. "Stupid Panda."

"Oi, call me that one more time and I'll stab you."

"You wouldn't dare. Besides, you called me forehead first, so there!" I stuck my tongue out at her.

"Put that away before I cut it off." she said, rolling her eyes.

I crossed my arms. "Whatever. So what are you doing here, TenTen?"

"Oh, my homeroom teacher told me to drop off a pass. Hey, do you know what _book_ your teacher is reading?" She crouched down low, lowering her voice.

"Yes, I know, it's disgusting. These two told me that it's normal, too." I said, nodding at Naruto and Sasuke.

TenTen looked over at them and straightened up again. "Who are you?"

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki!" Naruto said, grinning.

"Sasuke Uchiha." Sasuke said simply, smirking a bit.

TenTen smiled. "Well, I'm TenTen! I don't have a last name, because my parents are dead!" She said this like it was the most cheerful thing in the world. "And if you touch Sakura or Hinata, I'll stick a knife in your ass! Nice to meet you!" Sasuke and Naruto stared at her in wonder.

"Why do you keep talking about knives…?"

"Well, she likes a lot of things. Not only does she like to climb trees and jump from each one cause she's insanely flexible, but she has a knife fetish." I explained dully to Naruto.

"Not fetish, dumbass, _collection_." TenTen corrected me sternly. "For self defense, mainly. You'd be surprised how hard it is to live on your own." She shrugged. "Well, I gotta go back to my class. I have to sit behind this mute-ass kid Neji Hyuuga. You know, Sakura, Hinata's cousin? Isn't it _weird_ that we found him at this school?"

"Yup." I said, smacking my lips on the 'p'. But then I narrowed my eyes. "Come to think of it…you two were hanging around that Neji, weren't you?"

Naruto and Sasuke glanced at each other quickly, and Sasuke turned back to us, shrugging. "Yeah. What about it?"

"Nothing, nothing…" I said, shaking my head.

"Well, then I guess it's okay for _us_ to ask _you_ questions?" Sasuke asked suddenly, a new, sly tone in his voice.

TenTen didn't move, and I blinked. "Um...what about…?"

"Like why you're here." Sasuke said simply.

"Oh, that's easy." I said simply. And I told him about what had happened, how TenTen had beat up the boys that had pushed me and Hinata. When I finished, Sasuke nodded slowly.

"Oh…" Sasuke scratched his chin.

Naruto looked positively ecstatic as he heard this. "Sasuke…!" he hissed. "Weapons and really flexible, medical skills and really strong…! That's two of them!"

"Yes…Almost homicidal intentions…Hyuuga would be interested." Sasuke murmured thoughtfully.

"What?" TenTen asked, sounding surprised.

Sasuke cleared his throat, straightening up stiffly, as if he hadn't meant to say that out loud. "Um, nothing. Well, you should go, class is almost-"

The bell suddenly rang, interrupting him, and I grabbed TenTen's arm and fled the room with her. "Sakura let me go. My next class is that way."

"O-Oh. Sorry. Bye."

"Sheesh, I don't know what's gotten into you…bye."

I bit my lip as I threaded my way through the kids shoving through the hall, trying not to be seen by Sasuke and Naruto. After that little outburst, I didn't want anything more to do with them.

**H**i**n**a**t**a

Homeroom had been pretty uneventful. The two people that I sat between, Kiba and Shino, were surprisingly nice for a school with such a terrible aura and reputation. The next two classes were quite the same, without anyone familiar in them, but without anything special happening.

Now it was lunch, and I was walking down the hall alone to the cafeteria. I hoped Sakura had my books by now. If I didn't have them by my next three classes, I might get in trouble. And on my second day…That would be _awful_.

I finally got the cafeteria and stopped in the middle of the open doors, scanning the crowded room with my eyes for my best friends. I didn't find them until I looked even harder and spotted a flash of pink in the darkest corner of the room. I almost laughed. Of course Sakura would choose a table bathed in darkness. It was just like her; she liked attention when she had to, yes, but she disliked it when it was the wrong way. TenTen, however, loved it, and I on the other hand hated it. It was almost strange how completely opposite we all were, but that suited me just fine.

I made my way over when she waved at me, looking happy and horribly relieved to see me. I sat down next to her and she handed me a coke, sipping her own and holding one more for TenTen. As she swallowed the fizzing liquid she wiped her mouth with the sleeve of her uniform, then turned to me with a look that said she was preoccupied out of her mind. "I have _so_ much to tell you!"

I sighed, wondering what it was now…

**T**e**n**T**e**n

"Watch where you're going, _girl_."

I muttered a curse under my breath as I was pushed out of the way of the doors of the cafeteria by another girl, taller than me, that I had accidentally run into. She had blonde hair, pulled into four spiky pigtails on the back of her head and striking teal eyes. She was really pretty…almost like a model. And she had a small paper fan in her hand that she held like a first place prize. I found myself instantly liking her. She looked really artsy, but also pretty tough. I could tell she didn't take crap from anyone.

She was accompanied by a tiny, thin-framed girl that had long, glossy blonde hair pulled into a tight pony tail and ice-blue eyes. She was really attractive too, probably really popular with boys. There was also a boy with them, with a long, pale oval face, dark eyes that were hooded heavily, as if he never got enough sleep, and black hair pulled into one spiky pony-tail that sort of resembled a pineapple.

"Sorry, sorry, wasn't watching." I said respectively to the tall girl. I knew who to respect when I saw someone, and she seemed to see that and also seemed to respect me right back, for she nodded once curtly and stalked away.

The other little blonde skipped over to me suddenly and laughed. I noticed a silver chain with a butterfly charm around her neck with an I engraved into it. "Sorry about her! Temari-chan's in a bad mood cause her boyfriend…that's that guy over there, Shikamaru…is a lazy ass!" She pointed her thumb cheerfully over her shoulder at said Shikamaru, who rolled his eyes and slouched after Temari, hands in his pockets. I nodded slowly, and Ino noticed me staring at her necklace. "Oh! That's my necklace! It's the logo of my project!"

"Project…?"

"My future fashion line! It'll be called '_Hana cho_'!" ((A/N: Hana cho is 'Flower, butterfly' in Japanese)) she said happily. "And the I in there is for my name, Ino. Ino Yamanaka!"

"And I'm Temari Subaku. This is my lazy ass of a boyfriend Shikamaru Nara. We're all in sophomore year." I looked over Ino to see Temari and Shikamaru standing behind her suddenly. "Nice to meet you, new girl. What's your name? Grade?"

"I'm TenTen, I don't really have a last name, my parents died…" I said quickly. "And I'm a sophomore too…But…how do you know I'm new?"

Temari smirked. "Oh please, this school is such a rats nest for gossip everyone probably knows where you _live_ by now."

I gulped, and Shikamaru laughed. "Temari, stop scaring her. Listen, TenTen, it's just that it's a big deal in this place when three new kids are transferred here." he said in a deep, slow voice.

"What's up guys…and who are you cornering?"

I stiffened in surprise and stared at Sasuke, Naruto, and Neji walking up to me. Al three of them looked at me and had an individual expression of familiarity.

"You're from homeroom." Neji said.

"You're that girl Sakura's friend." Sasuke said.

"You're that really cool chick!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Um…yes, yes, and yes…?" I said, raising an eyebrow and taking a step backwards.

"Hmm...TenTen, can I ask you something?" Sasuke asked suddenly.

I nodded slowly. "What about…?"

"I know you and Sakura, but what about the other one, Hinata Hyuuga? Neji's cousin?"

I smiled a little. "Well, she's the best thing that happened to me and Sakura!" They all stare at me, so I sighed and explained. "She always knows what to say to us to make us smile, and she takes care of us. She's also a total genius. And she's the nicest person in the world…Whoa, okay, that sounds like I'm in love or something." I laughed at my own strangeness. "Well, whatever."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, and Naruto beamed. "Sasuke-teme! That's three now! Smart and responsible…That means all the slots will be filled!"

"Ssshhh…" Sasuke hissed, but I'd already heard.

"What are you talking about…?" I asked. "You said weird things like that before too. I don't get it, do you have some issues or something? You know I'm sure there's a therapist around here somewhere."

Sasuke shook his head. "TenTen, I have a proposal to make." he said slowly. "No, not a proposal." he corrected himself quickly. "An order. You're to come with me and the others here today after school to the parking lot. The _back_ parking lot, as in the one behind the school."

I tilted my head to the side. "What…? Why?"

"We want you to join-"

"TenTen!" I looked over my shoulder through the doors into the cafeteria to see Sakura standing and waving wildly in a dark corner of the cafeteria. She didn't seem to notice the others surrounding me.

I sighed. "Okay listen. I'd love to stay and chat about random things I don't really care about, but I have to go calm that pink chick down before she has a seizure. I'm not really interested in anything you guys have to say, because frankly you sort of freak me out. So later." I turned my back on them, but before I left, I heard Sasuke say, a sly smirk in his voice,

"I expected that…Oh well. I guess it'll be the hard way then."

I gulped but I kept walking over to Sakura and Hinata, speeding up. This was getting weird…

**x**x**x**x**x**

"Wait, so Sakura, you told Hinata everything that happened in homeroom, right?" I asked again once I'd finished telling Sakura and Hinata what had just happened outside the cafeteria. They both looked really scared all of a sudden, and I sort of felt bad making them worry.

"Yes." Hinata said for Sakura. "She told me everything that happened."

"Mhm." Sakura said quietly as I sipped some of my coke. "And now that you told us what just happened…I'm starting to get sca…wah!"

"What?!" I jumped, coughing on my pop, when Sakura jumped to her feet and stared at the ground. I followed her eyes and looked at…a balled up piece of paper…"Sakura…it's paper." I muttered, angry at her for scaring me, and making me choke, over nothing. "Are you sure you're not going insane?"

"No! It just flew over your head, TenTen!"

I looked over my shoulder to see none other than Sasuke and Neji smirking at me and giving a cool wave, nodding at the paper. I raised an eyebrow as Ino waved them over to her and the others and they turned their backs on us, walking away.

I bent down and picked up the paper. "TenTen…?" Hinata asked.

"_They_ threw it at us…" I explained. "Move over." I sat between them so they could both see, and I smoothed out the rumpled paper straight again to read it. I narrowed my eyes when I noticed it was newspaper print glued to the paper. But that usually meant that they did that so their handwriting couldn't be traced back to them. Or to look threatening. Like they meant business.

"Blackmail…!" we all said at the same time in horror.

I swallowed hard, trying to stay composed, and began to read it:

**S**a_**k**_u**r**_a_ **H**a_**r**_u**n**_o_, **T**e_**n**_T**e**_n_, **H**i_**n**_a**t**_a_ **H**y_**u**_u**g**_a_**1**3_**5**_

W**o**_o_**d**n_**o**_t**e** _A_**v**e_**n**_u**e**1_**4**_8 - **9**_2_**7**3

_**M**_e**e**_t_ **u**s _**b**_e**h**_i_**n**d_** t**_h**e** _p_**a**r_**k**_i**n**_g_ **l**o_**t**_ a**f**_t_**e**r _**s**_c**h**_o_**o**l.

**Y**o_**u **_k**n**_o_**w **w_**h**_o **w**_e _**a**r_**e**_.

A**n**_d _**d**o_**n**_'t **t**_r_**y **a_**n**_y**t**_h_**i**n_**g stupid**_.

**Or you'll see what it means to be in this school.**

**X**X**X**X**X**

Okay, that last part took a long -censored- time to -censored- type up, so be -censored- grateful you -censored-!...just kidding. but that did take a while to type…:P  
Re-read & Edited while listening to: _Voice For You_ by the voice actors of Temari and Shikamaru from Naruto! :D  
Like it? Love it? Hate it? Dislike it? Don't care about it? Review it! ;)  
Shoot for the stars: wow, I'd say 40? :)  
thanks for reading!  
xmarachanx


	3. Welcoming

Hey guys!  
Thanks so much to the following for reviewing:  
Music 1s my soul, EmiKoizumi.x, Daisy Valentine, KuriousK8D, HisEyesMyName-AmBeR159, DarkAnimeAngel13, ShinobiXAngel, Nerd4eva, Pnkrockninja101, Uchiha Sayaka, Tilders, o.O, frenchkittycat08, Matte Gloss, Shikyo no Amatsu Shinsei, Uchiha, Nami, XxXPippinXxX, Merciless Ruby, FallenAngel92, Akemi Akira, Skelex, kimiko77, SparkyCasper, .xXx.hikari.midnight.xXx., TheBeastlyKunoichi, That Little Bunny  
You guys rock! :D Mah, another really quick update. Only cause I have way too much time on my hands. (A lackage of school otherwise known as summer). This chappie's chock full of information. Drink it up. ;)  
Enjoy!

**X**X**X**X**X**

**H**e**a**r** N**o** E**v**i**l  
_See no evil. Speak no evil._

**D**i**s**c**l**a**i**m**e**r**: **Oh emm eff gee, I don't own Naruto. :)  
**S**o**n**g**: **_Hide and Seek_ by _Imogen Heap_ :)

**C**h.** T**h**r**e**e** - Welcoming Party

_Hide and seek  
Trains and sewing machines  
All those years  
They were here first_

**T**e**n**T**e**n

"…Wh-what?!" Sakura gasped.

I narrowed my eyes angrily. "Bastards…" I growled. "They put our address there just to prove that they know everything about us!" I clenched a fist around the note, which crumpled in my hand. "I can't believe they'd blackmail us like that!"

"Wh-What are we supposed to do?" Hinata stuttered, staring at my fist containing the blackmail.

"I…I don't know…" Sakura said. "Definitely not do what they say, though…"

"Nope. We're going." I said suddenly, looking up from the crumpled note.

Sakura's mouth dropped open and she instantly snapped into 'defensive mode'. "What?! TenTen, are you insane?! They could beat us up or something! Steal our car or our money! And we'd have no way to prove it!"

"Nope. It's okay." I said, standing. "Besides, I'll get them before they get us. I swear."

"TenTen, I really don't think-!"

"Sakura…" Hinata interrupted her gently. "Let's go. I think it's a good idea. We don't want to get any trouble from them. Didn't you say you wanted to fit in here?"

"Well, yeah…" Sakura sighed slowly. "Okay, I guess we have no choice, then." She stood up as well. "We'll meet in the back parking lot today after school. But for gods sake, be careful, both of you."

"Understood." Hinata said kindly.

I nodded. "Got it. Don't worry, Sakura. We'll be fine." I narrowed my eyes at the cafeteria doors where the boys had disappeared through with their little friends, for some reason not eating in the cafeteria, which I thought was odd. '_Alright. We'll play along…for now…_'

**S**a**k**u**r**a

The last two classes of the day were pretty boring and uneventful. It wasn't until after school that I started to feel a little nervous. Now, here we were, standing behind the school in the parking lot, which, to my displeasure, was completely deserted except for two motorcycles and a shiny black sports car, all parked up in a line next to each other as if they were best friends. They were probably parked in the sunlight for a reason; to show off how shiny and expensive-looking they were.

I paced back and forth around TenTen, who was leaning against the dirty, chipped bricks of the wall, and Hinata, who was fidgeting with her fingers, an old habit. "They're late." I announced when I'd had enough.

"They never set a time, Sakura." TenTen said calmly. I wondered how she could be so cool in a situation like this. "They just said 'after school'. That could be any time. Besides, we've only been here for five minutes."

I sighed. "I'm sorry…I'm just worried…"

Hinata smiled sweetly at me. "Sakura, it's going to be alright. I promise you."

I smiled back at her weakly. "Thanks…"

"Ah, you actually came." We all turned towards the door leading out of the school to look at Sasuke coming through the doors first. Naruto bounded out after him, and Neji followed. After that came Ino, Temari, and Shikamaru. Ino and Temari were both grinning, looking excited. "That's a relief. I thought we might have to force you physically." Sasuke was saying.

I narrowed my eyes at the attractive boy that now stood in front of me, then took a step back to stand next to Hinata. TenTen, however, took a step forwards. "What do you want?" she demanded.

"And make it quick, please." I added. "I have loads of homework I want to do for medical skills class."

Sasuke smirked. "Eh…Ino, you can tell em."

"Yay!" Ino jumped over and dragged Temari with her. "Temari, you can help."

"Cool." she said, grinning.

Ino faced us with a big, happy smile on her face. "Okay! So I already introduced all of us, right?" Me and the others nodded, and she nodded back. "Okay. So let's say what we want you for! We want you to join our gang!"

We were silent for a bit, just staring at her. Then TenTen started laughing. Everyone stared at her as she leaned over and laughed loudly. "Haha! You gotta be kidding me! A _gang_?! _Us_?!"

"You freaks have to be out of your minds!" I yelled furiously, clenching a fist.

Ino sighed. "Aww…I thought you'd react like this. But I'm being serious, we want you in our gang!"

Hinata bit her lip. "But why…?"

Ino smiled. "Let me explain! See, in Konoha, there are three main gangs. The first one is us. Sasuke's the leader, or he runs the gang in other words. Neji's sort of his sidekick, he's the fighter of the team. Naruto's sort of the thief, anything he gets his hands on it ours soon enough. Me and Temari are the transportation. We own those motorcycles over there." She pointed to the motorcycles. "We basically drive everyone everywhere and are totally awesome at driving! And finally Shikamaru is the tech kid! He takes care of everything that has to do with technology, and he always carries that laptop around everywhere." Shikamaru chuckled a bit and held up a black case, which must have contained a laptop. "He's a genius, his IQ's over 200!"

"Did they need to know that…?" Shikamaru asked quietly. Ino ignored him.

"That's the main people in this gang. There are more, though, of course. There's Rock Lee, he's a pretty good fighter and a good friend of Neji's. And there's also Kiba. He's a pretty good fighter as well, and he owns a dog named Akamaru. But neither of them are as good as Neji. And neither of them stay at the house that we own, they go to their own house, and we don't call them for help except when we really need it. Me, Temari, and Shikamaru never really leave the house to go to our real homes either, even though we all have dads and Temari has two brothers, because the gang might need us."

Temari nodded and picked up from there. "So that's our gang. The next one is Sai's gang, all boys. He's an evil guy, a total murderer. And he always has this fake smile on his face. Kinda creepy." Ino was suddenly fidgeting with her hands, and I wondered what it was about Sai that made her do this. Temari continued. "After Sai's gang is Karin and Ami's gang. It's a gang of all girls. They're obsessed with the boys in this gang - Sasuke, Neji, Naruto, and Shikamaru - and they're only intent is to kill any girl that tries to get involved with them…literally."

Ino nodded. "Temari's almost been killed a lot of times just because she's going out with Shikamaru. Before they were almost afraid to go out because of that, but they've gotten over it. And I've been in danger just because I'm Shikamaru's childhood friend. And any girl that even talks to anyone on this gang is in deep shit with Karin and Ami's gang." She clapped her hands together. "And those are all the gangs. Those three gangs make up the majority of this school. We're the smallest gang out there. These three gangs are constantly fighting with each other. We hate each other, like a lot. The reason our own gang was brought up was because Sasuke was tired of people getting hurt by his fan girls on Karin and Ami's team because of him, so he got people who he thought were appropriate together to create this gang to protect people and fight against anyone we needed to. Konoha's a really sick, dangerous place. And these gangs never stop fighting. We like it, though. It's not only keeping us preoccupied, but it's keeping people safe."

"But the thing is," Temari said, ", we still have three positions that need to be filled. First, we need someone who's good with weapons, so they can do long range attacks _and_ defense, and who's really flexible and fast so she can dodge attacks and attack quickly and easily. A weapons mistress." She nodded at TenTen, who raised an eyebrow. "Second, we need someone who's good with medicine, but who's also really strong, so they won't get touched and we'll always have someone in battle to heal people. A medic." She nodded at me, and I blinked in surprise. "And third, we need someone who is really responsible and smart that can think of different ideas for battle when we're busy, and also take care of the house while we're out, the place is in bad shape. A tactician." She nodded at Hinata, who blushed.

TenTen finally spoke up, sounding astounded. "So…you're saying…?" she asked, pointing at herself and me and Hinata.

"That's right." Temari said, smirking.

"We want you three!" Ino cheered. When we stared at them in silence, Sasuke sighed.

"Listen, I know you're probably freaking out right now and you're thinking that there's no way you're going to-"

"We're in."

**T**e**n**T**e**n

"…What…?" Sasuke asked, looking at me.

"I _said_, we're in." I repeated, grinning. "You think after all those reasons I'd say no? No way, I'm not that kind of person."

"Neither are we." Suddenly, to my surprise, Sakura stepped forward, taking Hinata gently with her. "We're not backing out of this."

Hinata nodded slowly. "I…I'm not going to be scared of something like this. I'm not going to stay hidden anymore. I'll do my best." she promised.

Sasuke and Neji were looking shocked.

"SWEET!" Naruto, however, yelled loudly. "Yes! This is gonna be so awesome!"

"Yay! New girls! Temari, we have more girls on the gang now, three of them!" Ino cheered.

"This is gonna be awesome." Temari agreed, grinning.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "So now what, are you those type of freaks that have to give an induction ceremony?"

Sasuke laughed, recovering. "No, no. But come to this address at six today." He took a piece of paper and pen out of his bag and scribbled something down, then handed it to Sakura. With that, he turned around. "We'll see you there. Hyuuga, you can drive us back home."

**H**i**n**a**t**a

I sighed loudly as I sat in bed. The bedroom in our new house was a small room with four beds side by side in it. We used the fourth bed to put our books and other things on. TenTen's bed, a crimson and white striped comforter on it, was in between Sakura's bed, a pink comforter on it, and my bed, a baby blue comforter on it. There was a night stand in between my and TenTen's bed, and a lamp on it lit up the room as we all sat in bed doing various things. I was sketching a picture in my notebook of a plant on the window sill, wearing a lacy white summer dress with a jean jacket that went down to mid-rib over it. TenTen was playing on her light green Nintendo DS, wearing a crimson shirt that hugged her body with a white smiling face on it, and jeans. Sakura was reading her new medical skills book, tucking a strand of pink hair behind her hair, wearing a pink sweater over a cream skirt.

"Something the matter, Hinata?" Sakura asked when I sighed again, closing her book. The weight of the thing sent a current of air around the room that made her hair fly behind her. She set the book gently on the ground so it didn't bang and turned to look back to me.

"Ah, I lost…" TenTen muttered, and she snapped the DS shut and slipped the stylus back into the slot, turning to me as she set it back on the nightstand. "Yeah, something happened?"

"Well…" I admitted. "It's just, I'm wondering if we're doing the right thing." I said quietly.

TenTen sighed. "Well…If this gang is to protect people, we might as well try and help. Besides, we'll be in even bigger danger if we don't join a gang, right? This gang will protect us from the other ones. It's the only way, right?"

Sakura groaned. "Oh, I knew we were in over our heads…Alright, we'll just have to go along with it, you're right, TenTen. But we have to be careful…TenTen."

"Why me?!"

"You know why, TenTen." I said, giggling.

She sighed and cracked a grin. "Alright, alright. I'll be careful, I promise."

"Good." Sakura said simply. She glanced at the alarm clock on the bedside table, leaning over TenTen's bed. "Think now's a good time to go?" It was five thirty.

"Sakura, it's a half an hour early." TenTen said.

"Well we've never been there before!" Sakura said defensively.

"She has a point, TenTen. We might get lost, we're new here after all." I said reasonably.

TenTen shrugged. "Well, I guess you're right. Let's go."

**T**e**n**T**e**n

"…Where are we again…?" Sakura asked meekly as I drove aimlessly around in circles. We'd been doing this for about half an hour.

"Don't ask me…" I said, narrowing my eyes. "Damn it…I hate this place…I can't find out where to go!"

"Let's calm down and try to think…" Hinata said, looking around from the back. "Ano…try that street, TenTen-chan."

"Right." I turned onto the street Hinata indicated and we all gulped. The street was a dead end, and it was dark and shady, leaf-less trees lining the sidewalks and deserted, empty houses that were slowly falling apart from lack of use sitting side by side on the dying grass of their lawns. "Um…sure this is the right street, Hinata…?"

"…I think so…keep going…" Hinata said, sounding just as scared as me and Sakura were.

"Alright, if you say so…" I drove slowly along the street, very slow in order for Sakura and Hinata to read addresses. When I finally got to the dead end, there was one house facing us, and it was lit, a golden light spilling onto the lawn in a welcoming yellow puddle.

"That's it!" Sakura said. "That's the house! See, there's the sports car and the motorcycles parked in the driveway!" She was right, I could see the two motorcycles parked side by side in front of the black sports car in the driveway. I parked in the street in front of the house, and we all got out. We stared at the house. There were no curtains on the one large window of the living room, but we couldn't see in from the distance. There was a very small cement porch leading up to a white wooden front door without a storm or screen door in front of it. There was a random doodle scratched into the wood of the door that looked like a stick figure peeing from what I could tell as we walked towards it. The house was small, and made of grey brick. The foundation of the place seemed to be cracked and crumbling.

We stood on the porch nervously. I took a deep breath. "Well, here goes nothing." I put up a fist to knock on the door, but unfortunately, I ended up punching Naruto in the face when he flung the door open. "Whoa…whoops." I said when he fell to the ground, clutching his nose.

"Nice going, TenTen." Sakura said sarcastically as Naruto laughed weakly and stood again and Hinata covered her mouth with her hands.

"Hi guys, come in." he said, wiping his nose and grinning. ((A/N: Yes, this is from TGL xD))

He led us inside a living room lit by one standing lamp in the corner. It was small, and carpeted with a grey carpet that was stained in different places with what looked like pop or alcohol. There were two sofas and two arm chairs in the room surrounding a coffee table, and there was a music system in the corner.

Sasuke sat in one of the arm chairs, Neji in the other. They were both looking at us as Naruto led us inside then sat on the arm of Sasuke's chair. "Heh. Looks like you got Naruto good." Neji observed with the air of accusing me of something.

"Sorry!" I said again, grinning sheepishly.

"No, thank you." Sasuke said, tugging on the neck of his dark blue sweatshirt. The hood was over his head, and he wore jeans that were ripped at the knees and dark blue shoes. Neji on the other hand wore a turtle neck zip up sports jacket that was light brown on the top until it reached mid rib, then it turned white, but the cuffs of the sleeves were light brown again, along with the final bottom of the jacket. Under that he wore baggy jeans and light brown Vans. Naruto wore an orange sweatshirt with black sleeves and hood, black sweatpants, and black converse. They all looked really cool, especially Neji. "Hmm…you're late, you know." Sasuke suddenly pointed out. "It's six thirty. What took you?"

"_TenTen_ and her awful driving!" Sakura snapped, finally exploding.

"Excuse me?! Who was the one giving me directions?! _You_, stupid _forehead_!" I said angrily.

"Oh shut up, TenTen, you were the one that almost ran into that stupid truck, then you _flicked the dude off_ when he beeped at you!"

"Only cause I was pissed cause that dude earlier kept yelling out his window how hott we all were! Don't blame me for _everything_, forehead!"

"Don't _call_ me that!"

"…Do they do this often…?" Sasuke asked as he and Neji eyed us strangely.

Hinata sighed. "Yes. Almost every day…"

"Want me to punch you, forehead?!"

"Maybe I should punch you, TenTen, and you can spend the rest of your life in a hospital for the brain-damaged!"

"Oh yeah? Maybe you could spend the rest of your life in a hospital for pink haired brats that have too many needles stuck in them!"

"_Please_ stop…!" Hinata cried exasperatedly.

Sakura and I both stopped arguing reluctantly and settled with crossing our arms grouchily. Neji cleared his throat. "Um…going on." he said, some amusement in his voice. "What we needed you here for was because we each have something we need to talk with you about. You, come with me." Neji pointed at me.

"Um…Why?" I asked nervously.

"Training." he said simply, standing. "You can fight, right?"

"Well, yeah, but only when I have a reason to…"

"Then have reason to." he said simply. "Come on."

I looked back at Sakura and Hinata, and they both gave me encouraging smiles, so I sighed and followed after him.

**S**a**k**u**r**a

We watched them leave the room through a hallway. "Where are they going…?" I asked.

"To the backyard. That's where Hyuuga trains with Lee most of the time, so I assume that's where he's taking TenTen. She'll be his sidekick from now on." Sasuke explained. "Anyways…Hinata, you know how to clean, right?"

"Ano…hai." she said shyly. "Why?"

"Because our house is in desperate need for it, that's why." Sasuke said. "Naruto, take her to the kitchen first."

"You're making Hinata-chan _clean_?!" I asked, dumbfounded. "I thought she was the tactician, not your maid!"

"Ino did point out that she'll take care of the house for us." Sasuke said.

"But…!"

"I don't mind." Hinata interrupted me sweetly.

I sighed. "Oh, that's right. You love cleaning, don't you, Hinata?"

Hinata giggled. "I don't love the process, I just love what it looks like after it…" she admitted shyly.

"Alright, come on, Hinata-chan! I'll take you to the kitchen!" Naruto said happily, and he grabbed Hinata's hand and pulled her off to the kitchen, which was through a door in the room. He slammed the door shut and yanked her on through.

'_Oh no_…!' I thought, glancing at Sasuke nervously. '_I'm alone…with __**him**__…!_'

He sighed. "That kid…Anyways, you. I'll need you for something real quick as well."

"What…?" I asked when he suddenly stood up.

"Follow me."

**T**e**n**T**e**n

"What are you talking about? I'm not going to fight you!" I said for the second time. We were in the tiny, grassy back yard of the house. There were only two trees in the place, one on the left side of the yard, one on the right, both facing each other.

Neji sighed. "Listen, I'm trying to train you. You said you'd be part of this team, and your new position is the weapons mistress. I have to see what you've got."

I frowned and crossed my arms defensively. "There's no way I'm going to…Hey, hold on, what are you doing?!" I asked, startled, as he suddenly sighed exasperatedly, then strode forward and slammed me against the wall of the house, holding onto my wrists and holding them against the wall on either side of me. He glared right into my eyes.

"Then I guess I'll have to force it out of you."

"Let me go, you ass!" I cried, struggling, but his grip was terribly strong.

"Not until you show me your attack."

I stopped struggling. "You want attack?"

"Yes, I want attack."

I smirked. "You're not getting it…" He opened his mouth to argue, but then suddenly I threw his hands away from my wrists and did a flip over his head, landing, facing him, away from him. I grinned. "You're getting defense!"

He stared at me for a bit, looking surprised, then smirked. "That's better." he said. Then, in a flash, he was aiming a punch at me. I yelped in surprise when I was sent flying backwards and onto the ground.

"Oww…" I moaned, pushing myself up into a sitting position and hugging my stomach, where he had punched me with full force.

He sighed and walked towards me. "I wasn't even trying hard. Are you serious?" When I said nothing and looked at my legs in front of me dejectedly, he sighed and stuck a hand out. "You'll have to try better than that. But for now, I'll let you rest, since it doesn't look like you can handle this yet. You probably can't even get me to one knee." I still said nothing, but something new seemed to shift inside of me as I let those words sink in. "Well? Come on." He said, hand still offering help up.

"…Shut up…" I muttered.

"…What?"

"I said shut up!" With that, I slid beneath his legs and put one hand on the ground, twisting my body around with one leg out, which slammed into his own legs and sent him to his knees. I stood and grinned down at him as he steadied himself and looked up at me. "You were wrong! I got you to _two_ knees!"

**S**a**k**u**r**a

"…Wh-What happened to him?!" I gasped. Sasuke had led me down a hallway with four doors, two on each wall, and taken me to the last door on the right side, which he said was the room where sick or injured people stayed. Now I was standing with Sasuke in the small, dark room. There was a musty, creaky old bed in the room, and a coffee table next to it with a small lamp set on the layer of dust, the only thing lighting the room dimly. A boy was lying on the bed. He had dark brown hair and tan skin that looked like cinnamon, with dark eyes set into his hard, straight features. He was surprisingly attractive.

"That's Kiba Inuzuka, one of our fighters that we told you about before. He accidentally ran into someone from Sai's gang."

"But what _happened_ to him?!" I asked again. He was lying unconscious on his back, and his shoulder was bleeding terribly.

"He got shot, what does it look like?" Sasuke asked. "It's obvious. Now can you do what you can to help him?"

I stared at Kiba for a while. What _was_ there to do…?

Sasuke heaved a long sigh. "Looks like you can't…Maybe I was wrong about you. I bet you can't do anything. Pathetic…"

I stiffened at that as he started to walk away. '_What did he say…? Pathetic…?!_'

"Hey you!" I yelled, whipping around to face him. He stopped, back to me. I smirked. "Go down to the drug store on the corner and get me a first aid kit with everything in it and a bottle of sleeping pills." He said nothing and didn't move. "What are you waiting for?! This is a member of your little gang, and if he dies, it's on you, isn't it?! Make it quick or he'll loose too much blood! Move!"

Sasuke looked over his shoulder at me blankly. He probably wasn't used to being bossed around by girls. But oh well. I could prevent this kid here from dying, and I wasn't about to treat anyone lightly.

I thought I saw a smirk on his face as he left the room, and I sighed and turned to the boy. "Alright, Kiba Inuzuka. You're my first patient. Let's see what I've got…"

**H**i**n**a**t**a

"A-Ano…Naruto-kun, why is there a sock on the floor…?" I asked timidly. The kitchen was a dank, smelly room with a refrigerator, stove, microwave, and a very long wooden table in it. The table had ten chairs at it, one on each end and four on each side. The floor was a white tile and the walls, though awfully grimy, were a pale yellow. It probably would look very friendly if it weren't for the packets of ramen and other foods scattered everywhere like decks of playing cards. The room was lit by one light in the middle of the ceiling.

"Oh, sorry about that. Here!" He took the sock and carelessly flung it in the sink. I gasped. There it joined the socks and boxers piled high in the sink with other bags of food and something that smelled rotting and looked green and moldy.

I swallowed hard. "Ano, Naruto-kun, could you bring me about ten trash bags, a bucket of soapy water, and a rag…?"

"Sure! Be right back!" He ran out of the room, and I sighed as I looked around the room.

"Boys…"

**T**e**n**T**e**n

Neji stared at me for a bit while he kneeled there, as if he was paralyzed. But then he smirked and got to his feet easily. "Hmm…that's good enough."

"What…?"

"I said that's good enough. Welcome to the gang, TenTen."

"…That's it?!" I asked as he turned his back on me. "That's all?! I wasn't even doing my best! Come on, I'm pissed off, let me kick your ass!"

He laughed. "Listen, I'd love to fight you, and possibly give you a concussion, but I have no time. It's almost seven o'clock, and I have to get Sai's gang back for shooting Kiba."

I stopped my anger and walked in after him with a hop in my step, the screen door leading through the hall to the backyard screeching closed behind me. "Oh, can I come?!"

"What? Of course not. You're new, this is too complicated."

"What?! You're the guys that blackmailed me into this and you're not even letting me do my job?!"

"We'll let you do your job later, alright? For now, get out of our way."

"Neji-kun! It's time to go! I got your stuff for you from your room!" Ino bounced into the hall as we walked through it. My eyes caught on the small gun dangling in her hand and the black sweatshirt she was wearing. She handed Neji a black sweatshirt of his own and beamed as soon as she spotted me. "Oh, TenTen-chan! Are you coming too?!"

"I _want_ to, but this oaf won't let me." I muttered, jerking my thumb towards Neji, who was slipping on the sweatshirt. I knew why they were wearing them; so they wouldn't be seen. Neji pulled a gun out of his jean pocket and stuffed it in the large, easy-to-reach pocket of the sweatshirt like Ino was doing.

"Aww, Neji-kun, you fun-sucker!" I laughed a little at Ino's childishness, and she grinned. "Oh, but he does have a point, TenTen. It's really dangerous. You're new, you don't know what you're getting into. Besides, you don't even have a gun or anything yet. So we'll see you later, okay?"

I sighed. "Yeah, yeah. Alright." I watched the two walk away and tilted my head to the side, then decided to follow them for a bit, just to watch. I ran through the hall and into the living room, then looked out the window, leaning against it casually, watching as Ino got into the front seat and Neji into the passenger seat. Before Neji closed the door he looked up, and his eyes locked with mine. Then he just shook his head as if to clear his mind and looked away, getting into the car and slamming the door shut. Ino then zoomed off. I could see her grinning wickedly through the windshield as she defied all laws of Konoha and sped away faster than I could imagine a car could go, tires screeching and squealing like a dying cat.

I turned back to the living room and sat down on the sofa, heaving a sigh. '_This gang business is weirder than I thought…_'

**S**a**k**u**r**a

Kiba opened his eyes dimly and groaned. "Ugh…wha' happened…?"

I looked over and smiled a little. Inside, I was celebrating. '_Yes! My first patient, revived! Beat that, Uchiha, I proved you wrong! CHA!_'

"Welcome back, Inuzuka." Sasuke said sarcastically.

Kiba looked up and sighed. "Sorry, Sasuke…Sai got me, didn't he?"

"Yup. You were out for an hour, Temari found you and took you back here."

"Ah…" Kiba glanced down at his shoulder as he sat up slowly, carefully, wincing a bit at the pain. When he saw his shirt off and the bandages wrapped around him, he looked up at me. I smiled shyly at him. "Who're you?"

"Sakura Haruno." Sasuke said for me. "She's the one that healed you. Our new medic."

Kiba's eyes widened. "You got a girl? Wow. Well, it's pretty exciting to see a new girl, anyways." Kiba held out a hand and grinned at me. "Name's Kiba, Kiba Inuzuka. Nice to meet ya, and thanks for helping me out."

I laughed and took his hand, letting him shake mine. "No problem." Wow, these gang types were nicer than I thought.

"Well, I'd better get home. My mom and older sis are probably having a heart attack, and I want to see Akamaru. Think Temari can take me?" I raised an eyebrow. Akamaru was probably his puppy or something.

"For sure." Sasuke said. "Come on, follow me, both of you. And nice work, Sakura. You saved his life, I hope you feel good. Cause it'll get worse from then on."

I ignored the last part and walked out of the room, grinning.

**T**e**n**T**e**n

"TenTen! I did it!"

My vision was obstructed by a flash of pink, and Sakura glomped me violently.

"Ow! Sakura, that _hurt_, you fat ass!"

"But I did it, TenTen!" Sakura cried as she climbed off of me and sat properly on the sofa next to me. "I saved that guy Kiba's life! He was shot by someone from Sai's gang, and I saved him! And it was _easy_ too, I just had to take some pliers and get the bullet out, then I had to clean it with disinfectant and wrap it with bandages! I learned that in medical skills class!"

I raised an smiled, impressed. "Wow, I doubt you've ever saved a life before. That's pretty cool."

"Yeah, isn't it?!" she asked excitedly.

Sasuke suddenly entered the room, and he smirked a bit. Temari and Kiba followed him. Kiba was talking to Temari. "Glad I found you in Shikamaru's bedroom, otherwise I wouldn't have a ride home since Neji and Ino are on a mission right now." Then he spotted me and stared. "Whoa…who are you?"

I grinned. "TenTen. Nice to meet you. Kiba, right?"

He grinned right back and nodded. "Yup. Nice to meet you too." He turned to Temari again. "Now, you wanna drive me back home please?"

"Will do." Temari grinned at me and waved, and I waved back with a smile on my face. '_I already really like Ino and Temari. They're both so comfortable and nice._' I thought happily, and I knew Sakura was thinking the same thing as she returned Temari's smile. Temari left with Kiba, and Sasuke heaved a sigh and sat down in an arm chair, then pulled out a black, razor cell phone and flipped it up.

He read a text on it for a bit then started laughing. Sakura and I each raised an eyebrow. "What?" Sakura asked rudely.

"Nothing…Hyuuga and Ino are done, they shot a dude in the arm and he started crying." Sasuke said, still chuckling as he slipped his phone back into his pocket.

Sakura frowned. "That's not funny! That's so sad!"

I resisted the urge to laugh and nodded, it really wasn't cool to laugh at a kid for crying because he got shot. But Sasuke shook his head. "You don't get it. We're getting them back for shooting Kiba. It's only fair. The kid had it coming."

Sakura sighed. "I still don't like that idea…" she muttered.

"We're back!" Ino suddenly stomped into the house. She threw off her sweatshirt and tucked it under her arm to reveal a tight black tube-top with a white butterfly on the front and a white mini-skirt, black stiletto boots on her feet. She grinned and flopped down on the other sofa. "Whew, that was a rush! I need some booze!"

"Sorry, we're out." Sasuke said as Sakura wrinkled her nose at the word.

"That's a shame. Temari will be pissed when she gets back." Neji said as he walked back into the room. He took off the sweatshirt and wiped some sweat off of his brow, breathing a sigh of relief. He glanced once at me and Sakura. "Kiba's healed?" he asked Sasuke, turning to him.

"Yeah, Sakura did it pretty well." Sasuke responded simply. "Naruto's in the kitchen with Hinata, she's going to clean it."

"…Hinata-sama cleans…?" Neji asked quietly.

I snorted. He looked over at me, and I decided to explain. "Why do you call her 'sama'?"

Neji narrowed his eyes at me. "She's the main branch of the family, the heiress of our clan. I'm from the farthest branch you could reach. That's why."

I watched as he walked out of the room, eyes narrowed angrily still. I swallowed hard. "…What happened, did I say something wrong…?"

Sasuke sighed. "Hyuuga hates talking about his family. His father was killed to save his uncle, Hinata's father, when Neji was only a really small kid. Because that's the job of his branch of the family. He was really close to his dad…" Sasuke cleared his throat. "But he deals with it. He had this big fight with the dobe, and…well, Naruto changed him." Sasuke smiled slightly. "Naruto changes lives…" Sasuke got a faraway look in his eyes, and Sakura glanced at me once, smirking a little.

Ino laughed loudly, breaking Sasuke out of it. "Sorry about that, Sakura, TenTen. But it's true. Naruto's a kid at heart, he's really annoying and crazy, but he has this…_way_ about him that just makes everyone his friend, no matter how long they've known him. And he always knows what to say to change someone's life, because…he's been through more than all of us." Sakura and I stared at her, and she explained. "See, he was born, and his parents abandoned him. He grew up on his own, and was hated by everyone. I can't imagine how hard it must have been for him, to live like that. All alone. But he did it. And then he found Sasuke. Sasuke's entire family was killed by his older brother, Itachi, right in front of his eyes, so Sasuke was alone too. And they bonded immediately. Even if they act like they hate each other, they're like brothers. They got found this abandoned house together and stayed in it, and now it's like the headquarters for our gang. But yeah, that's Naruto for you. It's cute, really!" Ino giggled and kicked a leg up, setting a boot on the coffee table as Sasuke rolled his eyes, looking a little embarrassed at the mention of his soft side.

"Hey, hey, guys!"

"Speak of the devil." Sasuke muttered as Naruto rushed into the room, banging open the door of the kitchen. "Come look what Hinata-chan did! Come look! Neji, you come too! Neji?! _Neji_?!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming." Neji called, and he walked in from the hall. "What?"

"Come look what Hinata-chan did, come on, all of you!" He dragged us all over to the kitchen, Sakura and I at the lead. We all walked inside and stared around.

Everything was spotless, with a faint scent of chemicals and sanitation in the air, and it was the coziest kitchen I'd ever seen in my life. Hinata was in a corner, scrubbing at something sticky. She looked up at us and quickly got to her feet, hands clasped behind her back meekly. "A-Ano…Gomen, I hope you don't mind…I cleaned up just a bit…"

"Just a bit…?!" Sasuke gasped suddenly. He walked all the way in and kneeled on one knee, putting a hand on the floor, staring at it. "The floor…There isn't anything _on_ it…!"

"I didn't know the walls were this color…" Neji said in awe, running a single, long finger along the wall as if inspecting it for infection.

Ino's eyes grew big. "_Wow_! You're awesome, Hinata-chan! How did you _do_ this?!"

"Oh, no, Naruto-kun helped." Hinata said shyly, blushing at the compliment.

Naruto shrugged. "Not really, I just handed her the supplies. But isn't this great?! I mean, she threw out some stuff, but she's still really awesome at cleaning! I've never seen this place so _shiny_!"

"That's our Hina-chan for you!" Sakura said proudly as I put an arm around Hinata's shoulders and grinned.

**S**a**k**u**r**a

"That…actually wasn't that bad…" I said quietly as I sat in bed, legs draped over the side, swinging my feet back and forth. I had on a pink, short sleeved shirt that hugged my body and black capri's for the night.

"You got that right." TenTen said, leaning back slowly and finally flopping down onto her bed, arms wide open as if begging the ceiling for an embrace. She had on a crimson tank with a white skull on it and white short shorts, and her hair was down for the night. "That was sort of fun."

Hinata giggled on her own bed, sitting cross legged. "They're not that bad once you think about it." she agreed. She had on a frilly white cami with lacy white pajama pants.

TenTen gave a slow sigh. "Other than that, though, I'm really tired. Let's get to sleep, kay?"

"Good idea." I crawled under the blankets, and so did Hinata, as TenTen leaned over and pulled on the lamp's chain, which flickered off, and she settled back as well. "Night TenTen, Hinata." I said.

"Night." TenTen mumbled.

"Goodnight." Hinata replied sweetly.

I smiled as I closed my eyes. '_It's actually sort of nice, lying here in a house with my best friends ever…now part of something I never would expect myself to be part of…trying something __**new**__…I like it…It's like I'm testing myself or something._'

And I knew, as I lay there and the moon bathed us in an eerie blue through our window, elongating the shadows of the room, TenTen and Hinata felt the same. Sure, things were changing. But for once, it was okay.

'_Maybe we've finally found a place where we belong._'

**X**X**X**X**X**

Uber long chapters FTW! x)  
ah, and I'm sorry about the lack-age of hesitation on the girls' part when introduced to the gang, but I just wanted to throw in a surprise? yes…?  
lolz. sorry about the long chapter too. or, in you readers' case, you're welcome. :) **By the way: **I have a poll up in my profile, and I would really apreciate it if everyone voted on it! :D  
Re-read & Edited while listening to: _Hao Ai Ta Hao Xiang Ta_ by _7 Flowers & 183 Club_. :D  
Like it? Love it? Hate it? Dislike it? Don't care about it? Review it! ;)  
Shoot for the stars: 90! :)  
thanks for reading!  
xmarachanx


	4. Supplies

Hey guys!  
Thanks so much to the following:  
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Enjoy!

**X**X**X**X**X**

**H**e**a**r** N**o** E**v**i**l  
_See no evil. Speak no evil._

**D**i**s**c**l**a**i**m**e**r**: **Oh emm eff gee, I don't own Naruto. :)  
**S**o**n**g**: **_Hide and Seek_ by _Imogen Heap_ :)

**C**h. **F**o**u**r - Supplies

_Oily marks appear on walls  
Where pleasure moments hung before the takeover,  
The sweeping insensitivity of this still life_

**T**e**n**T**e**n

"TenTen, _get up_, would you?!"

I groaned and opened my eyes slowly to meet a pair of green ones, narrowed in annoyance. Sakura stood there, her hair in a pony tail and her hands on her hips, glaring me down with an angry frown on her face. I blinked into wakefulness and sat up. I stretched slowly and yawned, exaggerating it with a small moan on the end. Meanwhile, I thought over everything that had happened last night. '_Was it a dream_…?' I thought, narrowing my eyes in concentration. '_If it was…it felt so real_…'

"Ah!" I cried out when a flash of golden sunlight blinded me, and I covered my eyes with a hand quickly. "Sakura! Why'd you open the window?!" I yelled in frustration.

"Because it's morning, TenTen, you have to get up!" Sakura insisted as I opened my eyes and winced at the light. "Oh come on, don't be such a baby."

"Oh shut up." I growled, getting used to the light and seeing her standing there and smirking triumphantly, one hand still holding the cord to the blinds of the one window in the bedroom, dangling there in her palm, and, surprisingly, I also saw Hinata, making her and Sakura's beds. I glanced over at the alarm clock on the bedside table and gaped. "Five o'clock in the morning?! But school starts at eight twenty five!"

"Yes, TenTen, because you made us late yesterday and look what happened, we ended up getting stuck in a gang."

I gulped. '_So it wasn't a dream…_'

"So today we're getting up extra early so you won't make us late today and hopefully nothing bad will happen and the day will go smoothly." Sakura continued. She and Hinata were still in their pajamas and still had their hair tousled and messy, as mine probably was.

I groaned. "Ah…you know you two are the worst friends _ever_."

Hinata giggled. "Sorry, TenTen, but this is the only way! Now hurry, please."

**S**a**k**u**r**a

"See, look at this, TenTen! We don't have to rush to school or to our classes now!" I said defensively as we walked slowly down the halls together to our classes.

TenTen wasn't in as much of a good mood herself. She glowered as we walked along and sent glares at passerby. "Yeah, that gives people even more of an excuse to stare at us…" she said loudly. I winced as her voice echoed down the hallway. She did that on purpose, so people would hear, and judging by this type of school, someone would definitely be offended.

I turned around to check if anyone was giving us strange looks, and I ended up_ getting_ strange looks, but not from who I expected. There they were, Sasuke and Neji, _staring at us_. I stared back, then I glared at them and turned on my heel, dragging TenTen and Hinata with me by the arms as I stalked away. I wasn't in the mood to deal with them.

**x**x**x**x**x**

I sighed as I sat down in my seat in homeroom, still thinking about TenTen and her annoying, big mouth. '_I can't believe she yelled like that in the hall…everyone thinks poorly enough about us already_!' I groaned under my breath, remembering the blue haired girl, Ami, from the other day. "God, she didn't have to make it _worse_!" I muttered angrily under my breath.

"Huh? Who make what worse?"

I jumped in my seat, turning red, as Naruto sat down in front of me, Sasuke sitting behind me without a word. Naruto twisted around and grinned at me, and I sighed. "Nothing…TenTen's just ruining our reputation."

"You're doing that enough yourself." Sasuke pointed out bluntly.

I tried to resist giving him the worst, sneering glare I could muster and settled with clenching a fist around my pencil, which snapped in half and clattered to the desk. Naruto sent a scared glance at the thing.

"Poor pencil." he remarked, grinning nervously. I turned my glare up to him, and he laughed and twisted around again, head bowed quickly. I heaved another sigh and reached down into my bag to pull out another pencil, but as I was doing so Sasuke prodded me on the shoulder with his own pencil. I gave an annoyed grunt and yanked out my pencil, then glared at _him_.

"What?!"

He raised an eyebrow at my anger but shrugged it off. "I need you and the other two to meet me and the rest of the gang in the same place today after school, I have some things to give you." he said quietly.

"What sort of things…?" I asked suspiciously.

"Nothing I can talk about right here. Will you be there?"

"Well, I guess…"

"Oh, and about Hinata…we need her at the house again, she really helps the place up. We could use her to cook and clean for us."

"Fine, but me and TenTen are coming too. We're not leaving Hinata alone." I said stubbornly.

He shrugged. "I don't mind. I doubt Hyuuga will give a shit either. But one thing…you'll need to come over every day."

"What?!"

He sighed. "I knew you'd react like this…but we need Hinata there each day to cook dinner for us and help straighten things out, that's her job."

"You're going to work the poor thing to death!" I gasped.

He smirked. "Doesn't she do the same for you and TenTen?"

I bit my lip. It was true, she did those exact things for me and TenTen every day after school and even before school, I recalled, she cooked us breakfast and made our beds… and she didn't seem to mind, in fact, she seemed to love it. So I sighed. "Alright, fine. It's a deal."

His smirk widened slowly. "Nice doing business with you."

I fought back a laugh and turned around again without a word. No way was I giving him the illusion that I was actually becoming more comfortable around him. He was, after all, a blackmailer, a gang leader, and probably numerous other things I didn't want to think about. This wasn't the kind of guy to be nice to. However, Ino and Temari were a different situation. They were both the kind of people I _wanted_ to be friends with. I liked them, they made me feel comfortable and happy around them, and not just because they were girls, but because they were similar to me, TenTen and Hinata.

I sighed and put my elbows on the desk, my chin in my hands. '_I hope TenTen and Hinata are having a better day than the last two days…_'

**T**e**n**T**e**n

"Twenty divided by seventy eight…?! What?!" I whispered to myself as I stared at the algebra homework I hadn't done last night and was trying to finish last minute in homeroom. "There's no such _thing_, it's not _possible_!"

"What is not possible, TenTen-chan?!"

I jumped in my seat when I noticed that both Neji and Lee on either side of me, in their assigned seats, were watching me closely. I smiled at Lee, who had spoken. "Oh, um, nothing, just homework, I don't get it."

Neji snorted. "You're doing homework? You don't seem the type to care about it much."

I shrugged. "I don't. I just care if Sakura punches my face in or not, and if I don't do my homework she does." I remembered something and turned to Lee. "Wait a minute…you're Rock Lee…they mentioned you!" I jerked my thumb over my shoulder at Neji. "Aren't you part of the-?"

"Don't talk about it in public." Neji ordered suddenly.

I closed my mouth quickly and laughed sheepishly. "Uh…sorry…" I said, saluting him with a hand.

Neji said nothing, but Lee smiled warmly. "Don't worry, TenTen, it's alright. I made that mistake before as well!"

"Are you kidding?" Neji muttered. "You do it almost every other day." Lee frowned sadly and bowed his head, and I laughed. Neji watched me, then something seemed to come to him. "Oh, I forgot…TenTen, Uchiha told me to let you know; today after school in the parking lot behind the school. We need to meet back there again. We have to give you supplies."

"Supplies? Like what sort of supplies?" I asked curiously.

"You'll see when you get there…you are going, aren't you?"

"Yeah, yeah." I sighed slowly. "Damn, moving here only made me busier."

**x**x**x**x**x**

'_Lunch! At last_!' I thought blissfully as I made my way through the crowded halls to the cafeteria. Kids were everywhere, and one of them pushed me aside as if I was nothing as he walked down the hall. I made a point to glare at him, but he didn't even see me, so I brushed it off. I promised Sakura I wouldn't start another fight.

Then another kid pushed me, and this time harder, and I stumbled backwards and closed my eyes, bracing for the pain of the fall. However, I only felt arms catch me instead, and I opened my eyes. Someone had grabbed me by the arms and stopped me from falling, and here I stood now, standing there awkwardly as this mystery person held onto me.

"You shouldn't let people push you around like that. Push back."

I resisted the urge to gasp when I heard Neji's voice and stood properly, grabbing my backpack and pushing it up to my shoulder again. "S-Sorry."

He raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Why are you apologizing to me? Go on, get out of here."

I frowned. "You could be a little less rude." I suggested in a scolding manner, but I obeyed, still feeling a little flustered. '_That guy is weird._' I thought as I threaded through all the kids.

Finally I got to the cafeteria and stopped in the doorway to search for Sakura and Hinata. But as I stood there, I suddenly felt two hands, one on each arm, take me and yank me away. "AH!" I yelled in surprise, trying not to swear out loud as two people dragged me down the hall, literally. My heels scrapped against the ground and I stumbled and almost fell against the ground "Hey! Stop it, let me go!"

"Hush, Ten-chan!"

I stopped struggling when I heard the familiar, cutesy voice, and I arched my neck back to look behind me. "Ino?" There she stood, with Temari, both of them holding onto one of my wrists now.

Temari smiled and nodded. "Hi TenTen! You're coming to eat lunch with us!" They both twisted me around to face them, and I stumbled again a bit and stood properly.

"H-Huh?!" I asked in surprise. "Why?"

"Because, that's what we do in the gang. We eat lunch with each other. Except Lee and Kiba, though…but that's okay." Ino said happily.

"What? We _have_ to?!"

"Yes, you have to." Temari said. "Well…no, not really, actually." she corrected herself after a few seconds of thought. She sighed. "Okay, I might as well tell you the truth, even if it is embarrassing. _We_ want to."

I stared at her and Ino as they fidgeted in front of me, both of them dropping my wrists, seeing that I wouldn't run away. "You…what…?"

"Me and Ino want you to eat lunch with us, okay?!" Temari asked loudly.

Ino nodded. "Yeah! This is sort of asking you to sit with us. And sort of asking to be your friends. We haven't met any girls like you in a long time that aren't total slut-bags or whores or people that just want to use us for the boys in our gang. We like you guys."

I watched them for a bit. I saw pure truth in their eyes. And I smiled. "Thanks…"

Ino and Temari instantly brightened up. "So you will?!" Ino asked with a small shriek in her voice.

I laughed. "Yeah, sure."

"Yay!" Ino squealed, and she suddenly launched herself at me.

"Oww! That doesn't mean choke me!" I gasped, struggling to escape from Ino's stranglehold that she insisted was a hug.

"Ino, get off of her before she dies." Temari said. However, as soon as Ino let me go, she grabbed my wrist and pulled me after her with a grip that Sakura would be impressed by.

"Oww! Let me go! Hey, I have to wait for Sakura and Hinata!"

"Don't worry, I'll get em!"

**x**x**x**x**x**

"You don't eat in the cafeteria…?" I asked uncertainly as Ino dragged me through the halls of the school. Temari was going to wait for Sakura and Hinata in the cafeteria and bring them after us so we wouldn't waste time.

"Nope!" Ino said simply with a big smile on her face.

I waited for a bit, then when I saw she wasn't going to explain more I decided to ask. "…Where _do_ you eat…?"

"You'll see!"

I rolled my eyes. "You gang types sure like to surprise people, huh?"

"_I_ do. But Neji-kun and Sasuke-kun don't. They say surprises are annoying." Ino said, pouting. "They're both so stiff sometimes…except both of them always surprise people without knowing it!" She stuck her tongue out a bit and winked at me. "Oh, we're here!" She suddenly opened a door at the end of a hall and we stepped inside. "Hi guys!"

I stared around. The room was abandoned. There were no desks, no chairs, no books, no nothing, only three windows against one wall. On of the window sills sat Naruto and Sasuke, and Neji. Naruto sat on Neji's left, Sasuke on his right. Both of them had their legs drawn up to their chests. Neji just sat straight forward, legs dangling off the window sill. All three of them had a coke in their hands and they sipped them nonchalantly as they chatted with each other. Shikamaru lay on the ground beneath Neji's feet, arms crossed beneath his head. All four of them looked up when we entered the room.

Neji raised an eyebrow and pointed at me lazily. "What are you doing here?"

"I dragged her along by force!" Ino said as if it was the most cheerful news of the day. We all sweated a bit at that, unnerved by her funky, happy-go-lucky attitude, but it seemed the boys were pretty much used to it.

"Um…yeah, that's sort of why." I said, shrugging. "But I agreed to come along."

"Mhm! She and the other two are eating lunch with us from now on!" Ino announced, hopping over to Shikamaru and sitting on his stomach. She was so tiny that he didn't even wince, just turned his head back up to the bottom of Neji's shoes and closed his eyes.

"Why are they eating with us again?" Sasuke asked.

"Because I said so!" Ino cried, swatting at Neji's feet like a cat.

"Why are you eating in here…?" I asked curiously, walking around the room aimlessly to take it in.

"The dobe found it a while ago." Sasuke said. "It's been abandoned, and no one ever checks it. We've eaten in here since then."

"Oh…" I glanced at the chalk board and smiled. There were a couple bubbly hearts and stars doodled there, probably from Ino. In the bottom right hand corner was a heart with S loves T in it. Probably from Shikamaru and Temari. And in the middle was a bunch of scribbles. I squinted to read. First it said, "Naruto was here". But Naruto's name had been scribbled out and 'Dobe' was written there instead. I laughed a bit. Probably from Sasuke. Then that was scribbled out and Naruto had written, "Sasuke's a teme and Neji's a gay a-". I blinked. Naruto hadn't finished writing 'ass'. I laughed again; Neji had probably gotten to Naruto before he could.

"Where's my girlfriend?" Shikamaru asked suddenly.

"Temari?" Ino asked. "She's bringing Sakura and Hinata!"

"Oww! That hurts!" We suddenly heard a voice echoing through the halls and three pairs of footsteps walking quickly.

"Is that Sakura-chan?" Ino asked curiously.

"Temari, let go of my wrist before I lose my blood flow, damn it!"

"Yup, that's Sakura." I said, rolling my eyes. Ino giggled.

Suddenly Temari, Hinata, and Sakura burst through the doors, and Temari dropped the wrists of Hinata and Sakura. Sakura rubbed her wrist and glowered at Temari, who was walking over to Shikamaru and sat cross legged by his head, no emotion on her face. Then Sakura turned and looked a little surprised, as did Hinata, as they observed the room, then spotted me. Sakura breathed a sigh of relief. "Hey, Panda-chan, Temari started going on about how she and Ino want to be our friends and-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know." I said. Then I frowned. "And stop calling me Panda, _forehead_."

"My forehead is not that big!" Sakura shouted furiously, throwing her wrist down.

"Hah, maybe I should measure it someday, it'll probably be a new record!" I said, putting a finger to my own forehead and sneering at her.

"Shut up, you ugly little brat!"

"_I'm_ ugly?! Look who's talking!"

She stuck her tongue out at me, and I narrowed my eyes. "Want me to cut that off?!"

"Want me to punch those little panda ears off your head?!"

"Both of you, _stop_." Hinata ordered.

We both stopped arguing reluctantly and turned away from each other. I looked over at the three boys on the window sill that were staring at us like we were idiots. Sasuke shook his head as if to clear it and sighed. "Anyways...Nara, what were you saying before they all came in here?"

Shikamaru opened his eyes and heaved a sigh. "That's right…I got an email last night from Sai's team. He said that he is, unfortunately, challenging us."

"Challenging…?" I asked curiously.

"Yup." Temari said. "Occasionally other teams 'challenge' us. We go to a certain place and rob it, and the person who gets the biggest prize first, which is usually the most valuable item in the place or the most money, wins. We try to take down the other teams while we're doing it, too. When a team wins, they get everything left, and the other teams have to get the hell of there. It's the rules. It's really dangerous, but a lot of fun, and a good way to get money. And now, apparently, Sai's team's challenging us to something."

"Again." Neji said, sounding annoyed. "Why don't we just turn him down, Uchiha?"

Sasuke held up a hand as he leaned against Neji. "Let's wait till we hear the details. Nara?"

Shikamaru sighed. "He said an old hag that lived down the street from the school just died, and in her will she left her inheritance to no one…so basically at the moment the house is abandoned and everything in it, along with about three hundred dollars hidden somewhere, doesn't belong to anyone. Winner gets the three hundred dollars."

Sasuke nodded slowly and heaved a long sigh. Neji groaned. "You're not thinking about another one, are you Uchiha? We've done too many recently…"

"We need the money." Sasuke said defensively. "…Nara, what date and time?"

"Tomorrow at six."

Sasuke stroked his chin thoughtfully. "…Let's see…Hey dobe, what's our inventory at the moment?"

"Empty." Naruto said, shrugging.

"Wha…?" I asked, getting even more confused.

"Our inventory…how much money we have from past challenges." Shikamaru explained in a lazy monotone. "We keep it in the basement of the house in a mini-fridge."

"Why a fridge?" Sakura asked with a laugh in her voice.

Shikamaru shrugged. "It was the only thing available."

Neji turned his head to look at Sasuke. "Uchiha, I've been working my ass off recently with all those challenges you're making me take. You use all the money I've been able to get to buy food and pay for the house, which is _why_ we're our inventory's practically empty. And now you're trying to make me lead another challenge?"

"Lead one?" I asked again.

"Neji leads all of the challenges." Shikamaru said as Sasuke rolled his eyes. "He's the head fighter after all."

"I'm sorry, Hyuuga, but we really do need the money. Tell you what, this is the last one for a while, alright?"

Neji narrowed his eyes. "Alright…"

"…We don't have to come along, do we?" Sakura asked suddenly.

Sasuke looked at her and smirked. "You and Hinata? No. TenTen, however, is coming."

"Yes!" I said, punching the air.

"Ohoho, _no_!" Sakura snapped quickly. "TenTen, you are _not_ going, I'm not letting you!"

"_What_?! Why not?!" I asked, drooping from my excitement.

"You are _not_ going to run around somewhere that we've never been with people shooting you!" Sakura barked.

"Yes she is." Sasuke said simply. "I said she would, she is."

"You can't boss us around! We were blackmailed into this!" Sakura cried, throwing her hands up in frustration.

"Not exactly, you did agree to it yesterday after all." Neji pointed out.

"But…!"

"Hey, teme said so, so TenTen has to do it!" Naruto said, frowning at her.

"B-B-But…!" Sakura stuttered. "She doesn't have a gun! She has no way of defending herself!"

"She'll get one sooner than you think." Sasuke said matter-of-factly.

"But what if she gets hurt?!"

"I'll have Hyuuga cover her. That way she'll never even get touched." Sasuke said simply.

Sakura's mouth opened and closed once, searching for another reason to argue, but when she found none, she groaned and bowed her head. "Fine…But TenTen, you better be god damn careful…" she said quietly.

"Cool!" I said, grinning. "This is gonna be fun."

"You think so?" Sasuke asked, sounding amused. "Hn…you'll see. It's less fun than you think…"

"Way to crush her spirit, Sasuke." Temari said, laughing. "Don't worry, TenTen, it's a lot of fun, you'll love it."

The bell suddenly rang, and Sakura swore loudly. "I can't believe this! I'm going to be late to medical skills! I have to go! Bye, Hinata, TenTen. Oh, and TenTen, pay attention in class and don't get into any fights, or by all the power given to be by Tsunade-sama I will kill you!" With that she sped out of the room.

Sasuke scratched his head as he jumped off the window sill. "She's really dedicated, huh?"

Hinata nodded, giggling a little. "Her biggest dream is to become a doctor, like Tsunade-sama."

"Who's Tsunade?" Naruto asked, interested, as he pushed Neji off the window sill, who in turn yanked Naruto down violently by the arm without moving.

I grinned. "The question is who _isn't_!" I put up a finger. "Tsunade-same is Sakura's mother, the manager of Kiri's hospital, and a number one surgeon that taught Sakura everything she knows! She's really violent and gets drunk a lot, because she's always drinking Sake!"

Hinata laughed as everyone stared at us in surprise. "TenTen, those were her bad qualities."

"I don't think so…"

Hinata laughed again. "Despite that, she's a strong person and very motherly. A lot like Sakura."

"Mhm." I said, nodding slowly. "Come on, Hinata-chan, I'll walk you to your class and make sure no one gives you any dirty looks, kay?"

She smiled at me, giggling a bit. "Okay."

"Don't forget about today after school!" Temari called after us as we walked out of the room.

"Yeah, yeah, we got it!" I called back to her as we walked down the hall.

"What about today after school?" Hinata asked. The halls were slowly filling up with kids, and I steered Hinata out of the way of all of them. If even one kid tried to touch my friend I would punch them in the face, and I really didn't want to start a fight.

"Oh, yeah. We're supposed to meet out back in the parking lot again today after school." I said as we avoided a large group of kids that looked kind of popular, walking along and shoving each other recklessly. "Stay away from people like them…" I whispered in Hinata's ear as we walked. She just laughed.

**x**x**x**x**x**

"I can't believe they're late _again_!" Sakura cried as she paced back and forth in front of me and Hinata furiously after school. Here we were again, in the same place we were yesterday, waiting for them. We'd been there for half an hour, and even though it was getting aggravating, it wasn't _that_ bad.

"Calm down, they'll come eventually. Again, they didn't set a time. And they were the ones that told us to come here anyways."

"True…" Sakura said thoughtfully. "But I'm still upset, they have no sense of time!"

"Don't worry, Sakura-chan, they'll be here." Hinata said sweetly. "Although you do have a point, they're even later than usual."

"See, TenTen?!"

"Sheesh, and you call _me_ immature…be patient, guys." I said. We waited for a couple more minutes in silence, and suddenly there was a rumble, and suddenly two motorcycles zoomed into the parking lot. Two blondes sat on them…When we squinted, we could recognize Ino and Temari riding them, Ino's long pony tail flowing behind her in the wind. They both skidded to a halt in front of us, wearing identical grins and each climbing off their bikes and leaning against them.

After them the black sports car sped into the parking lot and screeched to a halt in a parking space. Sasuke came out of the driver's seat, Neji from the passenger seat, and Shikamaru and Naruto came out from the back. They all walked over to Ino and Temari, Neji and Sasuke arguing about something under their breaths. They all stopped in front of us. Naruto and Shikamaru were watching as Neji and Sasuke argued feverishly, not noticing us yet.

I was the first to speak. "Dude…that…was _cool_…"

"TenTen, shut up. You're not from the sixties, no matter how hippie-ish you are." Sakura muttered. That earned her a calm knock in the head from my fist.

"I'm not hippie-ish. And hippies aren't all from the sixties, stupid." I retorted as she clutched her head and hissed in pain.

Ino laughed. "Okay, let's see…Naruto, you have them, right?"

"Have what…?" Sakura asked suspiciously.

"These!" Naruto cried dramatically, and he held up three black bundles like they were holy. "I spent five hours at Konoha Mall with Ino and Temari shoplifting to get these!"

I raised an eyebrow. "Wow, you got yourselves some new cloths. Congratulations."

Neji's lips twitched as if he was suppressing a laugh, and he sighed. "They're for you."

"…Um, no thanks, we have enough cloths." Sakura said, looking a little weirded out.

Sasuke groaned in aggravation. "They're _not_ just cloths. Sure, there's cloths in there, black shirts so you won't be seen at night when we go on missions. And jeans too, so you can slip them on under your skirt so…well, yeah. We decided girls needed that when Ino and Temari started to have trouble with Sai's team…But there's more. Naruto, go ahead and give them each the right one."

Naruto meandered over to each of us and handed us a black bundle. "Ino and Temari picked em out especially for you guys!" Naruto said, giving us a huge grin and a thumbs up, which Hinata blushed and giggled at.

I unrolled my black bundle. It was a black hoodie sweatshirt that would hug my body when I put it on, I bet, and jeans rolled inside of them. Sakura, Hinata and I each stuffed the jeans in our bags. The pocket seemed unnaturally heavy, as if there was something in there. So I slipped a hand in the pocket and grasped a sleek item. I pulled it out and gaped. "…Wh…Wh...What is _this_?!" I gasped, staring at the shiny, sleek brown cell phone I held.

"Oh, that's the new chocolate phone!" Temari exclaimed, smiling. "It's completely awesome. You'll love it. And I thought chocolate type colors fitted you a lot."

I kept staring at it. "How much…is it…?"

"Ah, about nine hundred dollars." Naruto said as if it was nothing. "It's really new, barely out on the market."

I felt my mouth fall open. "Nine hundred…?!" I whimpered.

This time Neji did laugh. "What, are you not used to buying anything over one hundred?"

"N-N-No! Nothing over _fifty_! I live by myself, have you all forgotten?!" I gasped, trying to breath right as I slipped it in my bag in a protective, safe pocket. "…You know what, thanks. I think my life is complete now, I've always wanted a cell phone, but I got the best one out there." I said, grinning.

Ino and Temari laughed. "No need to be dramatic." Temari said.

"TenTen, there's more!" Ino cried.

I sighed and reached into the pocket again, and I felt my jaw drop. "SWEET!"

"WAH! TenTen, drop that _thing_! Drop it right now!" Sakura shrieked, pointing at the black revolver in my hands.

"Calm down, Sakura, I already know how to use this thing, remember? Dad taught me when I was five." I said as I fondled the gun, passing it from hand to hand.

"Oh…that's right…" Sakura said. "But…be careful!"

"Don't worry so much!" I said, grinning as I slipped it back into the pocket of the sweatshirt.

"Sakura, Hinata, check your own pockets!" Temari suggested, grinning.

Sakura checked her black sweater first, looking scared about her own weapon she would probably get. First she pulled out a tiny, skinny pink cell phone. She gazed at it in awe and looked up at Temari, who grinned and nodded. "A pink mini-razor. Really small but even better than the real razor. And I thought it would definitely fit you…for obvious reasons." She winked at Sakura, eyes flickering to her pink hair.

"Th-Th-Thanks…?!" Sakura managed to squeak as she slipped it into her own bag. After that she reached a hand in and held up a gun like it was a nuclear bomb ready to explode. "You…can't be serious…!" she breathed.

Sasuke sighed. "It's for self defense. If you want to die, then go ahead, we'll take it back."

"…I'll keep it, but…someone has to teach me how to use it…" She whispered as she stuffed it quickly back into her sweatshirt and tucked the bundle under her right arm like I was doing.

"Don't worry, I will!" I said to her. "You too, Hina. Go ahead, check yours!"

Hinata nervously pulled out a shiny silver cell phone from her own black zip-up hoodie. Ino beamed. "Oooohhhhhh! That's the new i-phone! It's like an ipod and a cell phone combined! I got that one just for you, Hina-chan, I thought you were the type that liked music!"

"A-Arigatou." Hinata said sweetly, putting it away in her own bag. After that she pulled out her own revolver and gulped. "I…I'll use it…if you teach me, TenTen, Sakura. I promise." She said confidently, putting it away in her sweatshirt and holding the bundle cutely.

Sakura and I smiled at her, loosing all senses of nervousness and panic and excitement. "Okay, Hinata-chan."

"Sure thing."

Neji, Sasuke, and Naruto were watching us, looking curious at our sudden change of behavior, so I changed back to normal. "Awesome. This means that we're going to keep these for, like, ever, right?"

"Right." Neji said simply. "But Shikamaru has something to talk to you about the cell phones, right?"

Shikamaru yawned and pulled out his own, sleek, dark green one. "Alright…so I've played around with everyone's cell phones so that they're all connected. When you hit the star button, then the number 2, everyone's phones will beep loudly two times. That will be the signal for us that someone's in an emergency. Depending on where we are we'll meet in these places. If we're in school we meet in the back parking lot. Anywhere else we'll meet at the house. Got it?"

Sakura, Hinata and I all nodded, finding it easy to understand. Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief that the business was over. "And that's about it. Remember to meet us at the house as soon as you can today, okay?"

"O-Okay…" Sakura breathed, still a little upset about the guns.

"Let's go, Tema! Beat you!" Ino cried, straddling her motorcycle and starting it up.

"As if, pig!" Temari yelled, getting onto her own. "See ya, Shikamaru." They both zoomed away through the parking lot. I watched as they swerved around cars, which beeped and honked indignantly, and high fived on their motorcycles, clasping hands once then separating to swerve around another car, racing each other and jeering names at each other over trucks, laughing recklessly.

I couldn't help but laugh myself. "They're crazy!" I said as Sakura smiled a bit.

"It's cute though, isn't it?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, whatever." Sasuke said, rolling his eyes like we were crazy ourselves. "See you later."

"I'll drive, Uchiha. I don't want you crashing us again." Neji said as the four of them walked away to the car.

"Oh shut your mouth, Hyuuga." Sasuke said, receiving a satisfied smirk from Neji.

"Hey, hey, Neji, can I drive this time?!"

"No way, Naruto. Last time you nearly killed us."

"Aww! Come _on_, Neji!"

"I said no."

"Sasuke-teme! Come on!"

"Just let him drive, Hyuuga."

"_No_, Uchiha! Do you _want_ to kill everyone within five yards?!"

Sakura, Hinata and I laughed as we watched them. "Never mind." I said as we turned around and walked back into the school to go back to our own car. "They're _all_ crazy!"

**X**X**X**X**X**

yes, a long chapter again. :p don't worry, it'll get less like TGL and less boring as it goes along.  
Oh, and also, yes, a lot of characters are OOC. But I did that on purpose for the sake of the story. :) And guys, **vote on my poll please** **and thanks**. x)  
Re-Read & Edited while listening to: _That Green Gentlemen_ by _Panic At The Disco_ :D  
Love it? Like it? Dislike it? Hate it? Don't care about it? Review it! ;)  
Shoot for the stars: Wow, since I have **101** in _3 chapters _(-celebrates-), let's go with 130! :)  
thanks for reading!  
xmarachanx


	5. Not So Hostile

Hey guys!  
Ah, finally, an update! Yes, updates will be much slower, but I promise I'll get on here as much as possible!  
Oh, and another thing. I've gotten a lot of complaints about the fact that this is a lot like The Game Of Life. Well, didn't I say that when this story just started? The beginning will be a lot like TGl, but it'll get really original later on, you'll see. :)  
And so, thanks so much to the following:  
SMOKe13, Daisy Valentine, Pnkrockninja101, Nerd4eva, SparkyCasper, Merciless Ruby, kimiko77, whitepheonix13, iimAdOrKabLe, Chigiri Sasaki, DarkAnimeAngel13, Uchiha Sayaka, Pandastacia, KuriousK8D, ShinobiXAngel, HisEyesMyName-AmBeR159, Hikoru, Aniki, Strawberry Lulz, .xXx.hikari.midnight.xXx., Kick -Assing -Kunoichi, Shikyo no Amatsu Shinsei, Tilders, Hawky, TheBeastlyKunoichi, Akemi Akira, Cheez plz, Mystic Mage-chan, waterdragonrai, mintxrain, Classic Tragedy, EmiKoizumi.x, tentenXshikamaru, Shenhui, WahineDancer  
Thanks a lot guys! I'll start working on The Fruit Basket right away. :)  
Enjoy!

**X**X**X**X**X**

**H**e**a**r** N**o** E**v**i**l  
_See no evil. Speak no evil._

**D**i**s**c**l**a**i**m**e**r**: **Oh emm eff gee, I don't own Naruto. :)  
**S**o**n**g**: **_Hide and Seek_ by _Imogen Heap_ :)

**C**h. **F**i**v**e - Not So Hostile

_Hide and seek__  
__Trains and sewing machines (oh, you won't catch me around here)__  
__Blood and tears (hearts)__  
__They were here first_

**T**e**n**T**e**n

"Hi girls! Come in, come in!" Ino cried before I could even knock on the door. After school we had gone home quickly and done our homework, but then Sakura said we should leave earlier than usual so we didn't get lost and didn't end up late again. That's what we did, so we didn't end up eating dinner or getting dressed out of our school uniforms and into casual clothes.

'_At least I didn't get lost again…and I didn't punch Ino in the nose either_.' I thought with a small grin as we stepped inside the gang's house. For only the second time in the house it had a surprisingly familiar air around it, as if I'd been here before. I wondered if Sakura and Hinata felt the same.

"Hey guys, 'sup? Sasuke, Naruto, and Neji are out right now taking a drive, they do that sometimes. They'll be back in about an hour, probably." Temari greeted us as Ino closed the door behind us and we dropped our bags by the door. She was lounging on the sofa, Shikamaru's head in her lap as he lay down, his laptop on his stomach, typing away, his long fingers flying across the smooth, flat keys like a spider's legs. "What's up with the uniforms?" Temari asked curiously after giving all three of us a look-over.

I glanced quickly at what they were wearing themselves as Sakura explained why we were in uniform. Ino had on a tight black tube top with her Hana cho emblem on it, a black miniskirt, fishnets, and black platform heels, along with loads of eyeliner staining her Alice blue eyes in thick circles and bright red lipstick painting her perfect pair of full lips. Temari on the other hand had on a tight black tank with the same Hana cho emblem on it, a wide red sash tied around her waist, black silk twill pants, and black flats. She also had thick eyeliner circling her teal eyes but no more makeup. In my opinion, they both looked awesome. Shikamaru, too, looked pretty cool, wearing a black fishnet top over his bare chest and black sweatpants. It was almost a scandalous style for the three, but very bold, and I liked it.

"Hey, that's actually kind of perfect that you don't have your uniforms with you!" Ino said suddenly, flashing her brilliant white teeth. "You know, if you three are going to be our friends, and be in this gang, you're going to have to dress a lot better."

"Are you saying we don't dress well?" Sakura demanded, setting up her defensives.

Ino laughed, however, and wasn't phased at all. "Well yeah!" Sakura's mouth snapped shut in surprise and she thinned her lips angrily as Ino went on. "I mean, for being so pretty you should dress like _us_!" She gestured around at everyone's outfits. "I made them myself!"

"And they're pretty awesome too." Temari remarked. "She has some clothes that will definitely fit you, you'd look great in them too."

Ino nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! I mean, come on…Sakura, you dye your hair pink and Hinata you dye your hair dark blue! And TenTen obviously has a punk style too. You guys _need_ to try these! _Please_?!"

Me and my friends glanced at each other once, then I laughed and turned to them. "Yeah, whatever."

Temari and Ino's faces immediately snapped into identical, sly grins. "Perfect…"

I gulped a little. '_Crap. What did I get myself into…?_' I thought.

**x**x**x**x**x**

"_P__erfect_!" Ino declared triumphantly as I glowered, standing there with Ino and Temari applauding their own work. I wore my hair in the usual, but I had on a black short sleeved shirt that was slightly turtle-necked and with puffy sleeves, a brown, grey, and white plaid designed mini-skirt, and white boots that went up to my knees with dark brown laces. It was a sort of punk and vintage style, the kind of style I always wore and loved. However…

I crossed my arms angrily. "I don't see how you guys enjoy dressing me up like a doll." I muttered. Ino and Temari's bedroom was the second door on the left in the hallway, right next to the boys' room. There were two beds in their bedroom against one wall, and across the room was a large walk-in closet with loads of clothes hung side by side, crammed together tightly. Ino and Temari had spent a while picking out clothes for us, then threw them at us and told us to put them on in the room, sticking to the old 'girls can change in the same room together' rule. Temari was now lounging on her bed, and Ino sat perched on the edge of her own bed.

Ino shrugged. "I _love _it."

"Mhm, I do too. You're really hott in that, TenTen, gotta give you props. You need to dress like that more often!" Temari said, grinning at me. "Let's see you, Sakura."

Sakura sighed and turned to face us. I grinned a bit. Sakura wore a shirt with sleeves three fingers thick that swooped in a wide 'V' shape across her collar and onto her shoulders. There was one short layer of the light pink shirt that ended at mid-chest, then another layer beneath that which ended at her hips over black skinny jeans and red heels. I'd never seen her looking better, it was great. "Sakuraaaa, you look so awesome!" Ino cried as Temari nodded in approval.

"You guys are so stupid not to dress good and show yourselves off! Hinata, go ahead, show us."

Hinata giggled a little and turned around shyly. Sakura and I gasped and nodded happily, approving instantly. Ino had really captured Hinata's innocent, sweet style well. She had on a navy blue shirt with a lavender collar that went in a very low 'V' shape and would probably show a little too much chest if it weren't for the lacy white cami beneath that. She sleeves of the shirt were poofy at the shoulders, and then came back to cling to her arms in short sleeves in a lavender trim. The end of the shirt ended at her hips with matching lavender ruffles. And under that she had on a jean skirt, and finally some cowboy boots to complete the look.

"Hinata-chan, you look so adorable!" Ino squealed. "Ne, ne, Temari, aren't you proud?!"

"Not yet." Temari said, standing. "We need to go show them off."

I gulped yet again. "Huh…?"

**S**a**k**u**r**a

Ino had scurried out the door as soon as she saw the sports car zoom into the driveway, and now they were all walking up the stretch of sidewalk to the house. Ino had left the door open, and since there was no screen door, I could hear their argument all the way in the living room.

"Naruto, if you _ever_ try to drive, _one more time_, I will personally rip off your limbs and beat you with them." Sasuke was scolding as Neji simply dragged Naruto in by the arm painfully.

"Sasuke-teme, it's not my fault! That guy was turning at the wrong time!"

"Idiot…" Neji hissed sharply. "You were supposed to stop driving, it was a red light! He had the right away to turn!"

"That's right, _dobe_! You almost got us killed! You frigging…gah, you're so stupid!"

"I wouldn't be talking, Uchiha." Neji said, sending a glare Sasuke's way. "You were the one that let him drive because you're too much of a pussy to put up with his whining."

"What?! Say that to my face, Hyuuga!"

"I just did."

"Hyuuga, one more word and I'll whip you're-!" Suddenly Sasuke's voice trailed away when he caught sight of us. I was sitting on one of the sofa's, one leg crossed over the other. TenTen sat next to me, feet on the coffee table, doing her homework after I had threatened her multiple times with various violent punishments if she didn't. And Hinata sat next to me cutely, hands on her lap, and smiled a little when they came in. Temari and Shikamaru were on the other sofa.

The three boys stared at us, looking surprised. Neji even dropped Naruto's arm. Ino grinned. "Haha…And _this_ is why Temari and I kept bugging you to let girls in the gang! Aren't they cute looking?!"

"Ino, I _told_ you to stop talking about us like we're dolls!" I snapped. "You were the one that forced us into these!"

"Not just me, Temari too!"

"Mhm, I helped." Temari mumbled absentmindedly as she played with Shikamaru's hair, his head in her lap again, still tapping away on the keyboard of his laptop.

"Well...it's certainly an improvement." Sasuke said, smirking a little at my outfit. I glared at him pointedly and he turned away to Neji, who was turning away from TenTen, and Naruto, who was practically drooling over Hinata, and sighed. "Alright, well, we have to get to-"

_Yeah here we go for the hundredth time__  
__Hand grenade pins in every line__  
__Throw 'em up and let something shine__  
__Going out of my fucking mind_

"I love this song!" TenTen, Temari, and Ino cried at the same time. I glanced at the corner of the room at the stereo system, then to the remote in Ino's hand; she had randomly flicked it on, and now Bleed It Out was blasting loudly through the speakers.

Ino, TenTen, and Temari started rapping along to it, laughing with each other like childhood friends. I groaned and covered my ears. "You guys are awful!" I complained as Sasuke did the same with his own hands, covering his ears to block out their childish giggles.

"Oh shut up, Sakura, stop sucking everyone's fun out." TenTen said.

I envisioned myself sucking a rainbow out of TenTen's neck like a vampire and shuddered a bit. "I do not suck the fun out of everything! I'm just trying to spare everyone annoyance!"

Ino laughed a little and flicked the radio to the next song, receiving another burst of, "I love this song!" from Temari and TenTen when a song called Time To Dance boomed through the speakers.

I sighed. This was going to be a long afternoon…

**T**e**n**T**e**n

"What is Hinata doing again…?" Sasuke asked as we watched Hinata walk in and out of rooms. Temari and Ino, meanwhile, were out doing 'errands' that Hinata had politely commanded they do. Hinata was carrying a basket filled with clothing to the basement and back, and was always accompanied with a bucket filled with soapy water and a soaked rag. She kept straightening things on top of counters and picked up anything random hanging around on the floor.

"Cleaning." Sakura said as Hinata walked through the living room and, without a word, leaned over the counter and sifted through the sloppy stack of papers. In two minutes flat the entire room was soon spotlessly clean and organized. Naruto's mouth was gaping open, and Neji's eyes were wide. Sasuke looked satisfied as Hinata walked out. She hadn't said a thing the entire time.

"…Dude…she's _intense_…" Naruto remarked, eyes big.

"Yeah, that's Hinata-chan for you." Sakura said proudly. "She's the best!"

Sasuke shook his head. "Anyways…we've got to get to the business. Nara, Hyuuga, pay attention." The two shared an annoyed look, but obeyed, sitting up straight and watching Sasuke as he leaned forward a bit and grabbed a black, ripped up notebook from the coffee table that Hinata had placed neatly on top of a straight stack of papers. He also grabbed a pen and flipped the notebook open. Sakura and I, interested, watched them as well, and Sasuke looked up at us. "Oh, this is where we record raids and challenges, things like that." he explained, then cleared his throat. "Nara, address?"

"247, Shi Zi Street."

"Hmm…you're right, not too far from the school…" Sasuke said conversationally as he scribbled it down. "Time is six, right?"

"Yeah."

"Alright…" He scribbled down some more.

Neji heaved a sigh and stood slowly. "Well, I guess I'd better go training."

"Whoa, wait up, Hyuuga." Sasuke called before he could leave. "You're gonna hurt yourself if you keep this crap up, you're ready enough."

"It's alright, Uchiha." Neji said in a monotone as he walked out of the room and down the hall. Sasuke sighed and shook his head, exasperated, and I looked after him, feeling a sense of curiosity.

**S**a**k**u**r**a

"TenTen, where do you think you're going?" I asked as she suddenly stood up after sitting next to me on the sofa, elbows on her knees, thinking aimlessly.

"Training!" she said. Then she pointed at Sasuke. "I'm going along on that challenge tomorrow, after all."

"True. Go ahead, and tell Hyuuga I gave you permission to train with him, alright?"

"Alright! Thanks!" With that TenTen left the room after Neji, and I groaned.

"I hope he goes easy on her."

"Don't worry, she'll be fine. Hyuuga won't murder her." Sasuke reassured me.

I looked up when the front door slammed open, and Ino and Temari stomped in, each with plastic bags literally hanging off of every body part that they could fit them around, including their necks and legs. I raised an eyebrow. "_What_ is all that?"

"Hinata-chan made a list for us!" Ino said with a bit of a pant in her voice as they dragged themselves in, grocceries flopping off their ankles. "She got us a lot of really yummy looking food, and had us use our emergency money, since we have a challenge tomorow anyways! She's smart, huh?"

"What kind of food?!" Sasuke and Naruto both blurted out at the same time.

Temari grinned. "All kinds. Tacos, pizza, spaghetti, salad, burgers, brownies, cakes…and even more! I just hope we have enough space for all of it. And that she can cook it all too."

"You don't have to worry about that. She's a _genius _when it comes to cooking." I said, giggling. Then I tilted my head to the side. "Speaking of Hinata, where is she? I hope she's alright. Maybe I should go check on her…"

"I think she's in the boys' room." Ino said as Temari and her made their slow way to the kitchen with the bags dripping from their shoulders. "You can just go in, Sasuke-kun and Naruto-kun won't mind. Oh, also, Neji-kun's not here and Shika-kun's asleep, so they won't mind either…I doubt they'd mind anyways!"

"Ino, you could have just told Sakura to go in." Temari said, rolling her eyes and grunting at the weight of the bags. "Oi, Sasuke, Naruto, help us out!"

**H**i**n**a**t**a

I entered the boys' room slowly, shyly. I didn't know if it was alright to be going in here without permission. Well, they _did_ tell me to clean everywhere after all. Even so, I was still nervous. But my fears soon proved to be nothing, and I realized that as soon as I stepped into the room.

There were two bunk beds in the room, one against each wall, and I could tell immediately which one was who's. The bottom bed on the left wall's bunk was just a simple black quilt and a pillow; probably Neji's. The one above it was three dark green blankets and two black pillows, along with some beeping items (I didn't have the slightest clue what they were) and a couple thumb drives; definitely Shikamaru's. The bottom on the right wall was an orange blanket and a grey blanket, both slightly dirty looking, one of them ripped, and a black pillow, the blankets twisted and falling off the edge of the mattress; Naruto's, who else? And finally the bed above that was a dark blue blanket with a white skull on it, a black pillow, and a picture frame sitting in the corner; probably Sasuke's.

I smiled a bit, but when I took in the rest of the room, my smile dropped into a frown. There was a desk with a computor and a sloppy stack of papers, pens included, scattered randomly, in the dark corner of the room, a swivel chair pulled up to it. And there were two wardrobes only, but they were most likely empty, since there were clothes and boxers and socks and even some food all over the place. I wrinkled my nose a little in slight distaste, and yet again I thought to myself; '_Boys_…'

"Hinata-chan? Oh, good, you're in here."

I turned around and smiled at Sakura. "Sakura-chan. What is it?"

"Oh, nothing, I just thought I'd check on you is all." Sakura said, smiling back. She looked around the room and laughed harshly. "Yuck! This place is a mess! I like Ino and Temari's room better, at least it's _already_ clean without you having to do anything!"

I laughed a bit too. "This isn't the worst of it, you should have seen the basement." I said. "I can clean this all up quickly."

"Mind if I look around a bit?"

"No, that's alright, you won't get in the way." I said, and she flashed me a smile before walking around the room, her jade eyes flicking back and forth curiously as I started putting things away. She climbed onto Sasuke's bunk and looked around, then she spotted the picture frame and took it in one hand.

"What's this…?" she asked, a bit of a fond laugh in her voice.

I shrugged. "I don't know…" I was going to question it, but then I coughed a bit, and my eyes widened. "What's that smell?!"

_"Hinata-chan, help us!"_ I heard Naruto shriek. _"Ino and Temari tried to cook a brownie and caught the pan on fire!"_

I slapped my forehead with my hand exasperatedly as Sakura muttered, "You're not supposed to cook it in a pan...", and thought, '_Maybe it's not just boys…_'

**S**a**k**u**r**a

I watched as Hinata fled the room and laughed a bit. '_It's so immature…but so cute at the same time!_' I thought happily.

"What are you doing?!"

I jumped, startled, and looked down at Sasuke, standing on the floor and looking up at me. I looked down at the bed I was sitting on and the picture frame still in my hands and gulped. '_Oh no…_'

**T**e**n**T**e**n

"Can...we…stop…now…?!" I gasped. Me and Neji had been in the backyard training each other for so long now. My lungs burned with each breath I took and my legs and arms weren't doing so good either. Three of my knives were stuck in the ground randomly, and two of them had grazed Neji, once on the arm, where a long, thin but painful-looking and bloody slash dripped menacingly, and once on his cheek, which had resulted in a small scratch not exactly the length of the one on his arm.

I had just gotten up from being sent crashing into a tree, and I was hurting all over. He was standing still and wincing as he held onto his arm, blood squeezing through his fingers. "You were the one who suggested this…" he retorted through heavy breaths.

I caught my breath and straightened up, groaning. "Oww…that hurt…And here I was thinking you were going easy on me."

"I was." he said, defensives up immediately, straightening up as well and narrowing his eyes.

I laughed. "Yeah right! I bet that's the best you can do!"

"Not at all." he said. "I can do worse. I do have a specialty in gentle fist after all."

"What? Gentle Fist? What's that?" I asked curiously.

He smirked. "Why don't I show you?"

I backed away as he advanced. "Hey, what are you gonna do…?"

"Stay still, I'm not going to hurt you. I'm just going to show you a fighting technique. It's simple." I stopped, and he suddenly took my arm and laid it out straight. With that, he took two fingers and jabbed my shoulder. I winced at the harsh, sudden contact, and then I felt my arm flop. His smirk widened a bit and he held up my arm, which just hung limply.

"Wh…What did you do…?! I can't feel anything…!" I asked, staring at my arm and trying desperately to move it.

"I shut off your nerves from your shoulder down to the tips of your fingers." he said simply. "It's a Hyuuga technique. It's called Gentle Fist because it's so subtle, but it's so affective. I could have turned off your entire body's nerves if I wanted to, and you wouldn't be able to move."

"Whoa…" I gazed in awe at my arm which he held up, a bit of a grin on my face. "That's amazing…!"

He nodded almost proudly. "Not many people can use it. But those who can are deadly. It's also pretty effective in turning people like Naruto off…"

"Yeah, yeah, brag about it. Now give me my arm back please?"

He laughed a bit and jabbed me in the shoulder again. I winced and rubbed my arm, which suddenly had feeling again. "Agh! It feels all tingly!"

He raised an eyebrow. "Really? That's odd, people don't usually feel that."

"Really…?" I wondered, as I rubbed my arm a bit more, why it felt different for me, then shrugged it off for later. "Anyways…how was I? I'm pretty good, huh?"

"Not necessarily. You could use improvement, it's almost like you missed me that third time on purpose."

"That's cause I did! I never miss my mark, I did that on purpose so I didn't _kill_ you!"

"Then I guess we're even."

That made me laugh.

**S**a**k**u**r**a

"Yeah, that's me." Sasuke muttered. "What about it?"

We sat on his bunk bed, legs dangling over the edge, side by side, and I held his photo in my hands still. In it was a younger version of Sasuke and an older version of Sasuke that looked just a bit different, and with longer hair. "Who's that then?" I asked, pointing to the older version.

"…My older brother."

"What's his name?" I asked, noticing the hesitation in Sasuke's voice but deciding to ask anyways.

Sasuke said nothing for a while, but his hands slowly balled into fists, and I began to regret asking him as I edged away from him just a bit, seeing him grit his teeth and stare at his knees. "…Itachi…" he growled at last.

"…Oh…" I decided not to ask more about it. They were obviously all dead. I wondered what had happened…but I didn't want to press him in this state. So I held out the picture to give it back to him. But he wasn't looking at me, so I swallowed hard and set it gently on his lap. He jumped at the contact and glanced once at me, then took the picture and shoved it back into the corner of his bed. I opened my mouth to say something, but TenTen came into the room with Neji's unexpectedly and saved me any awkwardness.

"Yo Saki! What's up with that burning smell?" she asked, climbing onto the bed and hanging by her hands on the railing of the top bunk I was sitting on. I kicked her hands as she swung and sighed.

"Ino and Temari tried making brownies and apparently they caught the stove on fire."

"What?! Haha! Leave it to them, huh?"

"You shouldn't be talking, TenTen." I muttered as Neji sat down on own bed and looked up at Sasuke, watching him closely.

"Uchiha." he barked suddenly, and everyone in the room, including Sasuke jumped. TenTen almost fell off the bunk. "Get yourself together, Uchiha." Neji said as Sasuke shook his head to clear it. "Stop being a baby just because of Ita-"

"Shut your trap, Hyuuga! Don't say his name around me, I already told you!"

"Don't tell me what to do, Uchiha. Just because you have the emotional capacity of a grain of salt doesn't mean you can get special treatment."

"Oh go suck a dick, gay-ass."

"I wouldn't be talking, seeing your hair looks like a chicken's ass, maybe you should suck _that_."

"Um…there _are_ girls in here, ya know…" I tried.

TenTen didn't seem to mind, though. "I bet five bucks Neji wins." she said, grinning and clambering onto the bed to sit next to me.

The two boys ignored her. "Hyuuga, say one more thing, I dare you!"

"One more thing." Neji said dully.

"Fucking smart ass!" Sasuke growled, and he jumped down from the bed and stomped out of the room.

I watched him leave and bit my lip. "He was in a bad enough mood already…" I said quietly.

Neji sighed. "I know, that's why I aggravated him. He needs to get over himself and stop being a kid. That, and I love seeing his face when he loses."

TenTen laughed a bit, then she slipped through the bars of the bed and landed gracefully on the floor as I climbed down myself the longer but, in my opinion, _safer_ way and faced TenTen. I froze and stiffened when I spotted something red on her cheek. "T…TenTen! You're bleeding!"

"Huh?" She put a hand to her cheek where I pointed and winced a bit. "Oh, looks like I am. Neji, you cut me."

"I did? Where?" She turned to him and pointed, and something flickered in his pale eyes for a second before he shrugged. "Go clean it off and you won't even notice it."

"It's okay, I already don't notice it."

"What are you saying?! Neji, don't tell her that, she could get an infection!"

"Huh?" They both asked at the same time. Then Neji laughed a bit. "You remind me of Uchiha, Haruno."

I felt my mouth drop open. "Ex_cuse_ me?!" I asked, putting a hand on my hip. "_How_ do I remind you of…of…of…_him_?!"

"You're both bossy, overemotional, and overprotective." he said simply, standing and leaving the room.

TenTen laughed. "Finally someone who sees things the same way I do!"

"Oh shut up, TenTen! Come on, let's go check up on Hinata."

**H**i**n**a**t**a

After I had saved the stove from what Ino and Temari claimed was 'certain death' (they also insisted on calling me a hero), I decided to make dinner for them since they were so desperate for food in the first place. Now I stood, pulling the pan with the pizza on it out of the stove, and everyone was sitting at the table in an awkward silence that TenTen was trying her best to end. She wasn't achieving much, unfortunately. Sasuke sat at one end of the table. Naruto sat on his left side, Shikamaru on his right. Temari sat next to Shikamaru, followed by Ino, then an empty seat. There was an empty seat that Sakura had reserved for me next to Naruto, then Sakura's seat, then TenTen's. TenTen sat next to Neji, who was at the end of the table opposite Sasuke. Apparently the seats that the gang members sat at were their regular seats, and now the seats that had been assigned to me, TenTen, and Sakura were ours from now on.

"Did you get that pizza cutter that I asked for on the list?" I called over to Ino and Temari as I placed the pan quickly on the counter before I could burn my hand on the hot material.

Temari tilted her head to the side. "Oh, that little round blade that looked like it belonged in a mini car factory? Yeah, I put it in that one drawer that we put spoons in…"

"The silverware drawer…?" I corrected, nodding a bit at her as I opened it. I had straightened out the silverware drawer a while ago, so now forks, knives, and spoons were in their proper place. Temari, however, had just thrown the pizza cutter in. I sighed. This was going to be hard to keep up with them…

"What did you make…?" Neji asked curiously. "It smells like…I dunno what it smells like…"

"Haven't you ever had pizza before?!" TenTen cried.

Everyone at the table shook their heads slowly, and Sakura groaned. "Oh my _god_! What's wrong with you freaks?!"

"Calm down, Sakura, it's not their fault." TenTen said, patting her on the shoulder. "They're just…deprived."

I laughed a bit as I sliced the pizza evenly. "That's the perfect word for them, TenTen-chan." I said. I finished cutting the last triangle of the thin crust and put down the pizza cutter, taking the pan in one hand. "It's ready."

"Finally, something other than ramen…" Sasuke muttered.

"Shut up! Ramen's good!" Naruto said, slamming his hands on the table.

Sakura leaned over my empty chair and snatched his hands off the table. "Well Hinata's cooking is better. Stop being childish." she said calmly. "Thanks, Hinata-chan." she added as I set the pan down in the middle of the table.

"Yum! Thanks, Hina-chan!" TenTen leaned forward to grab a slice, but Sakura slapped her hand away.

"Hey! Let the people who have never tried it take one first!" she scolded as I sat between her and Naruto.

Naruto took that as an invitation and grabbed a slice sloppily and took a bite. The gang members at the table all watched him intently, curious about this food they'd never tried. Naruto chewed for a bit, then a grin slowly formed on his mouth. "This is _good_! This is _really_ good!" he cried with his mouth open and the chewed up food revealed inside.

Sasuke and Neji immediately took a slice and had a bite, then they both nodded. "It's awesome." Sasuke said simply.

"Better than ramen..." Neji added thoughtfully.

"Yummy!" Ino cried as she chewed hers. Shikamaru and Temari both chewed their own with small smiles on their faces.

It would have been sweet if it wasn't for the fact that every single person that spoke, even Sasuke and Neji, had done it with their mouths full and open. Sakura slammed a hand on the table, hypocritically too, since she _had_ told Naruto not to do it, and stood up. "Hey! Next person that talks with their mouth full gets hit!"

"You cant be serious." Sasuke said, swallowing and giving her a look.

"Oh she is." TenTen said, pushing Sakura down in her chair. "Like one time I purposely opened my mouth, just to annoy her, and she hit me so hard in the arm that I had a bruise for three weeks.

"Okay, okay, we believe you." Sasuke said as Sakura nodded, fixing her glare on him.

I giggled as I watched everyone argue and chat across the table while eating the pizza I had made. There was one thing I could think; '_This is actually...nice._'

**X**X**X**X**X**

Hope you liked it. :)  
Re-read and Edited while listening to: _Whine Red_ by _The Hush Sound_. :D  
Like it? Love it? Hate it? Dislike it? Don't care about it? Review it! ;)  
Shoot for the stars: Oh, um…I'd say, like, 150 please? :)  
thanks for reading!  
xmarachanx


	6. Meaningless Threats

Hey guys!  
Okay, so I have to share this amazing news flash: I typed in 'Gai-sensei' on my computer, and it spell-checked it immediately, so I right clicked on the word, and, well…one of the options was 'Gay-sensei', and I was like "Oh my adjsfhasldjf!!" Just thought I'd share that with you. x3 Oh, and one more thing: I'm putting up my new story called _My Personal Opposite_ after I put up this chapter and edit it! So stay tuned for it! :D  
And finally, thanks so much to the following:  
Merciless Ruby, HisEyesMyName-AmBeR159, KuriousK8D, Hikoru, Aniki, totalnarutofangirl85, Pnkrockninja101, EmiKoizumi.x, tentenXshikamaru, dreaming.sapphire, kimiko77, Chigiri Sasaki, Mako.Ten, TheBeastlyKunoichi, Pandastacia, mintxrain, Shenhui, Tilders, SparkyCasper, Mistress Persephone, DarkAnimeAngel13, Daisy Valentine, Cheez plz, ShinobiXAngel, The Square, Youkai Koneko, Nerd4eva, waterdragonrai, Hikoru, Aniki, iimAdOrKabLe, Uchiha, Nami, XxXPippinXxX, robyn-chan, Yuki The DayDreamer  
Enjoy!

**X**X**X**X**X**

**H**e**a**r **N**o **E**v**i**l  
_See no evil. Speak no evil._

**D**i**s**c**l**a**i**m**e**r: Oh emm eff gee, I don't own Naruto. :)  
**S**o**n**g: _Hide and Seek_ by _Imogen Heap_ :)

**C**h. **S**i**x - **Meaningless Threats

_Ransom notes keep falling out your mouth.  
Mid-sweet talk, newspaper word cut-outs.  
Speak no feeling, no I don't believe you.  
You don't care a bit. You don't care a bit._

**T**e**n**T**e**n

"The sink is working now that I unclogged it, so if you're thirsty just get a glass and have some water. And there's ice in the icebox in the freezer. It's probably tiring drinking pop and beer all the time. Oh, and there's food in the fridge and the cabinets, in case you get hungry. Remember to change the laundry...What else…" Hinata put a finger to her chin. We were standing on the porch of the house, all of us except Shikamaru, who had just gave us a lazy wave as a goodbye.

"Hey, don't work yourself too hard, Hina!" Ino piped up, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet. "This isn't the last time you're coming here! You guys are coming here every day!"

Sakura smiled nervously. "Um…really…?"

I shrugged. "They said that before, Sakura. It's cool with me." I said, fidgeting with my new skirt. "Hey, we'll drop you these cloths off tomorrow then? I don't feel like changing back into the uniform."

Ino laughed lightheartedly. "Hah! Puh-_lease_! You can _keep _those things, and remember to wear them regularly."

"What?! We can't keep these!" Sakura cried.

"Darling, I _made_ those!" Ino said, waving a hand at her and scoffing. "I can always make some more. They're _easy_."

"…Well, okay, if you say so…" Sakura said uncertainly. "Come on, Panda Bear, drive us home."

"Stop calling me that!" I yelled, chasing after her off the porch as she ran, laughing, to the car.

Hinata, giggling, waved goodbye to the confused looking gang members on the porch and followed us, but before we got in the truck, Sasuke yelled, "Remember to come tomorrow at six, okay? And watch your backs!"

"Why?" Sakura called back over the truck.

"You're in a gang now, duh!" Naruto shouted. "You're gonna need to!"

Neji nodded. "This business gets pretty bloody."

We all gulped.

**S**a**k**u**r**a

"You know what, once you get past the seemingly meaningless threats, this isn't so bad after all." I said thoughtfully. I sat on the edge of my bed next to TenTen and Hinata, my medical skills book open in my lap. I wanted to read as much as I could and get as far ahead in the subject as possible. My teacher, Shizune, was already starting to see my talent in the subject, but I wanted even more attention. I wanted to get in advanced placement classes, I knew I had it in me.

"Mhm. It's kind of fun over there, right? And I think that guy _Naruto_ has something for our Hina here!" TenTen nudged Hinata gently in the arm with her elbow. Hinata blushed bright red as she toweled her soaking hair. She had just taken a shower, and I would have to take one next. We had all made a schedule, Hinata and I took a shower after school, TenTen took a shower in the morning, so she didn't have anything to distract her from her homework after school. My rules.

"_TenTen_…!" she complained.

I laughed. "He _is_ looking at you all the time, now that I think about it, Hinata-chan!" I sang.

"Sakura, not you too!" Hinata cried, looking appalled.

"Haha, Hinata, calm down, we're just playing with you!" TenTen reassured her with a smile. "But he is really nice, isn't he?"

"…I guess…" Hinata said hesitantly. She sighed. "Either way, Sakura, you should take your shower, then we should all get to bed early."

"Hm? Why's that?" TenTen asked as I stood up and closed me book, setting it gently on the floor beside my bed.

"Well, remember, we're getting up much earlier from now on…and also, tomorrow's the challenge. I believe we should all be as ready as we can be."

**x**x**x**x**x**

I woke up to something. I didn't really know what it was, but it was something. The alarm clock? No, it wasn't that. I couldn't hear TenTen's rock station blaring. I opened my eyes. It was dark. I was staring at the ceiling, my comforter pulled up over my chest. I tilted my head and yawned quietly, looking at the alarm clock. It was only four in the morning! What had woken me up so early, when it was so dark outside? I was quite a heavy sleeper, and I never _wanted_ to wake up this early!

I sighed. Might as well get up. But that was the hard part; getting up without waking my two sweetly snoozing sisters. I knew that if I woke TenTen up, she'd throw a fit, and if I woke Hinata up, she would be gloomy all day, and I was too tired to deal with that. So I moved as slowly and gently as possible on the bed, sitting up gradually. The mattress squeaked, but neither TenTen or Hinata stirred on their own beds, and I sighed in relief. "Whew…" I rolled off the bed and onto the floor.

The room was pitch black, and I found myself tripping over something by my bed that I'd left lying on the floor, which turned out to be my medical skills book. I muffled my little, "Eek!" with my hand, and toppled to the ground with a loud thump. I whimpered a bit and glanced up at the two beds. But neither of them woke up. I blew another sigh of relief and picked myself up, but that's when I heard it; a giggle.

I stiffened as I stood still in the darkness, my long hair falling to my shoulders, wearing a white cami and pink sweatpants, the usual pajama attire for me. "…Who is it…?" I asked quietly, reaching for the black lump on the table by my bed; the sweatshirt with the gun tucked inside of it.

Sasuke, Naruto, and Neji's words were still ringing in my head as I strained my eyes and ears in the nothingness, trying to decipher whether I was hearing things or not.

"_Remember to come tomorrow at six, okay? And watch your backs!"_

"_You're in a gang now, duh! You're gonna need to!"_

"_This business gets pretty bloody."_

"If you want money, go to another place, okay? We're broke!" I called out, grabbing the sweatshirt from the top of the table. My fingers grasped the cold metallic material of the gun and I gulped. '_I just have to convince myself this is the only way if it's someone from another gang after us…_' I thought.

But I was caught off guard when the lights flickered on suddenly and I heard an annoyed grunt as someone walked into the room. "Ino, Temari, did you sneak in here? I told you not to."

"Sasuke-kun, Neji-kun, Naruto-kun? What are you doing, weren't you waiting in the car?"

"We came because we got impatient, that's why. And because Shikamaru fell asleep and I couldn't trust Naruto in the back seat with him, a Sharpie in his hand."

My mouth fell open. "_What are you doing in our house_?!" I yelled, completely forgetting about TenTen and Hinata and slamming the sweatshirt back down on the table. I couldn't believe I was actually going to use a gun on them.

"Hi Sakura-chan! We're here because we're driving you to school today!" Ino said happily as Temari nodded. Naruto was looking around the room, seeming interested, Sasuke was watching me, and Neji looked bored.

"You _snuck_ into our house?!" I cried weakly at the top of my lungs. "At four in the morning?! What is _wrong _with you people?!"

"Mmm…Sakura, shuddup, will ya? I'm getting up..." TenTen mumbled. She pulled the blanket off of her head and blinked, getting accustomed to the light, then she stared at Ino and Temari, who had been hiding in the corner of the room, and Neji, Naruto, and Sasuke, all of them staring at her with wide eyes. "…Okay…?" she asked, getting out of bed uncertainly. She was dressed in a forest green sweatshirt and grey sweatpants to sleep. "Why's everyone in here and why's everyone staring at me?"

I sighed. "Everyone's in here because apparently they want to drive us to school. And everyone's staring at you because your hair's down and they've probably never seen you with it down."

"_Yes_, that is all _true_!" Ino cried, looking positively ecstatic. "TenTen, you look _beautiful_! Why don't you take it down more often?!"

I smiled a bit as I watched her blush a little at the compliment. It was true, her heart shaped face and the way her hair tumbled down her shoulders in thick, chocolate brown waves, streaks of gold and honey splayed throughout it, glossy and shining in the light...she really was pretty. I noticed Neji cross his arms and look away from her, eyes closed arrogantly, and I felt my lips form a smirk. TenTen, though she was still blushing, frowned at Ino's compliment. "Um, thanks, but I _hate_ my hair down, okay? It gets in the way and people always freeze up when they see me."

"It's because you're pretty, TenTen-chan." Hinata said sweetly, getting out of bed herself. She was dressed in a white cami and silky white pajama pants. "It's natural, I guess."

"Hi Hinata-chan!" Naruto called, waving wildly. While swinging his arm back and forth above his head, he knocked his hand into Sasuke's head, who let loose a string of curses and pulled Naruto out of the room, muttering, "Dobe!" under his breath furiously.

Neji sighed. "I'll go break them up…we'll be waiting for you three in the car." With that, he left out after them. Loud crashes and yells could be heard from both Sasuke and Naruto, then it ended abruptly, followed by two long moans, and then the door opening and closing with a slam.

Hinata smiled when Temari opened her mouth to explain why they were there. "It's alright, I overhead Sakura telling TenTen when I woke up. TenTen, why don't you take your shower? I'll go make breakfast. Ino, Temari, would you like some? It's cinnamon rolls."

**T**e**n**T**e**n

"If we were any other people, you guys would probably be killed right about now." I said conversationally, my voice muffled a bit between bites of my cinnamon roll as I sat at the sofa next to Sakura and Hinata, watching the TV. Ino and Temari sat on the bar stools at the counter in the kitchen, peering over at us, their legs swinging as they munched happily on their own breakfasts. "I mean, picking the lock on our door and walking on into our bedrooms, scaring Sakura like that, at four in the morning while we're just lying there sleeping? You're lucky Sakura didn't shoot you in the head!"

Ino laughed. "Oh please, I _knew_ it was going to be okay! You guys are cool!" she said happily.

"Mhm, you're our friends now. It's almost as if we know you well enough already. You're all slightly predictable in your own way." Temari said, nodding as she swallowed her own cinnamon roll.

"Oh, speaking of that, look what I got you guys!" Ino cried suddenly. She reached into her school bag, draped off of her arm, and rummaged around for a while, until finally she pulled out three, rectangular, clear plastic baggies. Sakura, Hinata and I all raised an eyebrow at them, and Ino sighed dramatically and hopped off the stools, coming over and handing each of us a bag.

I looked at mine and opened it, and something glittering fell out; a beautiful Amber necklace. It was on a golden chain, and it came together in an intricate triangle with a small amber circle shining in the middle. I caught my breath and turned quickly to Sakura. She was holding in her stiff, shocked hands, a ruby necklace. It was made of a silver chain that came down to a pear shaped, diamond design, and a ruby in the middle, in the shape of a tear drop. And Hinata next to her was gazing at a complicated designed necklace. There were moonstones, pearls, and blue topaz, sitting in a glowing luminescent. ((A/N: Check out my profile in the updates section for more detailed pics after you read the chapter! :D))

Ino smiled proudly. "Like them? I made them all especially for you!"

"Wh-What…?!"

"Don't worry, you don't have to pay for them. Naruto stole all the equipment for me to make them!"

"N-No, Ino, we can't accept these! These stones are…_r-real_!" Sakura gasped.

"Pfft. Calm down, girls." Temari said, waving a hand in the air nonchalantly. "She made me one too, see?" She stuck a finger through a necklace around her neck and lifted it up to show us, a lovely chain of pearls with lavender dots. "It's not expensive for us, and you'll look great wearing them. Come on, what do you say?"

"I thought you guys would be excited about them!" Ino complained, giving us the saddest expression I'd ever seen on her face.

That was enough, really.

"We _love _them!"

"I'm wearing this every day!"

"It's beautiful!"

"You're all so easy to fool…" Temari muttered as Ino slapped on a happy grin.

**x**x**x**x**x**

After breakfast was over, Ino and Temari ordered us to take our new supplies with us to school in our bags. Sakura fretted over the fact that there was a gun in her bag, worrying it might go off or she'd get caught with it, but they taught us a way to secure it in the depths of our bags; stick it in the pencil case and let the pencils just hang loose in the bag. Cluttered pencils was better than a gun sticking out of the corner of the bag. And our cell phones were to go in our right pockets at all times, in case of emergency. If the 'emergency beeps' sounded in class, we were to say we had to use the restroom, then run as fast as we could to the back parking lot to meet there.

The school day passed quickly. At lunch, we were dragged yet again to the same old room that we ate at the day before. This time Sasuke, Neji, and Naruto weren't there. Shikamaru informed us that they were skipping the last three hours of school to go out to lunch together before the challenge, which made Sakura furious, starting a rant about lack of responsibility as Temari fed Shikamaru, his head in her lap, Hinata ate lunch with Sakura, sitting against the wall, and Ino and I laughed it all up, eating our lunch while sitting on the windowsill.

Now, it was after school, and me, Sakura, and Hinata were waiting in the back parking lot. As usual, they didn't have a very good grasp on time. "Damn it, maybe I should just _call_ them!" Sakura cried as she paced back and forth.

Hinata laughed. "Sakura, this is becoming a usual thing. Just be patient. They'll come."

Sure enough, right after Hinata said that, Ino, Temari, and Shikamaru walked through the door to the parking lot, Shikamaru's arms linked with each girls', not willingly, it seemed, on his part, and a shiny red sports car zoomed into the lot and parked in front of us, tires screeching indignantly.

"Alright, looks like we're all here on time!" Sasuke called as he climbed out of the passenger seat. "Good thing I borrowed Kiba's car."

"Yes. Right on time." Sakura managed to say through gritted teeth.

I rolled my eyes as Neji got out of the drivers seat and Naruto popped out of the back. "Woo! I love it when you speed, Neji!" Naruto cried.

"It's not as good as when Ino or Temari speed, but I gotta hand it to you, Hyuuga, you showed that one guy in blue car what speed _is_."

"He was asking for it." Neji said simply as they walked over. "He cut me off." He looked me over and raised an eyebrow. They were all wearing jeans and their black sweatshirts. "Why aren't you ready?"

"Huh…?"

He sighed slowly. "Put on your sweatshirt and stick your gun in the front pocket. And hurry."

"Okay, okay." I slipped on the sweatshirt quickly. "What's the hurry? We leave at six." I said as I stuffed the weapon in my pocket.

"We're leaving right away, Shikamaru informed us while you were all in fifth hour that Sai changed the time last minute, probably trying to confuse us. We're leaving right now."

"Ah, again?" Temari asked, exasperated. "Shikamaru, why didn't you tell me and Ino in sixth hour?"

"Too troublesome..."

"W-wait, what?!" Sakura cried. "That quickly?! There's no time to prepare?!"

"Yeah, well, that's what he does. Ino, you're driving us, Temari, you'll take Shikamaru, Sakura and Hinata home in our car. Let's move." Sasuke said loudly, climbing into the passenger seat.

"H-Hey, hold on, you can't just-!" Sakura started, trying to take my arm, but Neji took my other arm and pulled me away. Sakura groaned. "Damn it…For God's sake, TenTen, _be careful_!"

"I'll be fine, Sakura, I promise, you don't need to worry!" I yelled back to her before Neji pushed me into the back with Naruto, climbed in next to me, and, as Ino zoomed away, he slammed the car door shut. I watched Sakura's nervous face fade away and tried to give her a reassuring smile out the back window, but as soon as I turned to look at Neji I gulped. "I'll be fine, right…?"

He snorted. "You're lacking in self confidence, aren't you?"

"It's gonna be awesome, TenTen, trust me!" Naruto said, grinning at me from my other side. "You'll have a lot of fun."

I smiled a bit. "Alright, I believe you. I'm more excited than anything, anyways."

"That's good! Oh, TenTen, reach in the trunk and grab some jeans for me and you!" Ino said loudly. "We don't want to give the people we hate _presents_, if you know what I mean!"

I laughed. "True!" I swiveled around and kneeled, leaning over the seats and into the trunk to grab two pairs of jeans out of the seven pairs scattered there. "Wow, you guys are really prepared, huh?"

"What do you expect? When our lives are so on the line, nothing less, I hope." Sasuke said, shrugging as I handed Ino some jeans. As Ino drove easily with her knees as she slipped her jeans on and I pulled mine on underneath my skirt, the boys all turned away to look out the windows.

"Um, what are you doing? We're wearing skirts, it's not like you can see anything." I said once I'd finished. "And none of you seem like the type to look anyways.

"Temari and Ino are slightly scarred from past experiences with males." Sasuke said as he stared meaninglessly out the smudged window of the passenger seat. "If we don't look away, they'll kill us."

"Oh." I said, a laugh in my voice.

"And also…Naruto back there _is_ the type to look."

I glanced once at Naruto next to me, who shouted, "Shut up, teme!"

"Hey, all of you shut up! We're here!" Ino called back to us. I looked out the window past Naruto's head and saw where we were headed. It was a big, two story grey brick house. An iron gate was in front, circling the weedy yard.

"Wow, no wonder she died." Sasuke muttered as Ino drew nearer. When we got even closer, he swore. "Shit, it looks like they got here before us." There were two other cars parked in the long driveway. "Park out front in the street, Ino, and hurry." Ino sped up and obeyed, and she squealed to a halt in front of the house.

"I'm waiting in the car, right?" Ino asked.

"Right." Sasuke said.

"Why?" I asked curiously.

"In case we need to retreat quickly." Sasuke said simply. He cleared his throat as Neji and Naruto both sat up a bit straighter. "Alright, listen up! Neji, you cover TenTen since it's her first challenge, but remember to let her fight. Naruto, you'll cover me. We're gonna go for the big money first, but whatever you find is good enough. Naruto, if you can manage to get your hands dirty on anything that's someone else's, that would be okay. If the cops come, everyone had better get their ass in the car and Ino, you'd better be ready to get the hell out of here. Everyone understand?"

"You could have said that a little simpler…" Naruto said, looking confused.

"Yeah, yeah. Alright, guys, let's move."

I grinned a bit as Naruto opened the door and pulled me out after him into the open after Sasuke, who had run around the car and was leading the way, Neji running behind me. We all pulled out our guns, and Naruto yanked me along by the wrist. All I could hear was our feet slapping the cement endlessly, and finally we were at the front door, and Sasuke stopped us. He opened the door a crack and peeked in while the other three of us waited, and then he turned and nodded at us, then opened the door quietly.

We entered the house into a fairly large living room. All the lights were off, so our black sweatshirts were perfect to blend in with the darkness. Dust got in my nose and eyes, and I found it hard to resist the urge to sneeze. It was a gloomy old place, with an almost gothic, old fashioned theme. '_What was she, a witch?!_' I thought incredulously.

"TenTen, stop spacing out, come on." Neji whispered under his breath, and I snapped out of it and ran after the other three, who were already walking towards a room, where a golden puddle of light leaked under the crack of the door, which was closed tightly and looked to be locked, Neji lagging behind a bit and watching me. I caught up and we walked over to the door.

Sasuke tried the knob slowly and quietly, then turned to Naruto. "It's locked. Can you deal with it?"

"Got it." Naruto stepped forward and pulled something out of his pocket; a bobby pin.

"You know how to pick locks?" I asked quietly, excited by this small peice of information.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "We _all_ do. What, you _don't_?"

"…Shut up."

"I got it, teme!" Naruto whispered after a loud, satisfying click.

Sasuke nodded slowly. "Alright. I'm going to peek really quick. If it's empty, we're going in." We waited as he cracked the door open, but he stiffened and backed away, quickly, closing the door again as silently as possible. "No, Sai's team's in there searching. Let's try the next one. It looks like it leads to some sort of hall, and the lights are off."

Naruto obeyed silently and picked the lock of the door next to this one, and it opened quickly. Sasuke took a quick look in, and then turned back to us. "It's clear. Let's go." He opened the door, and we all slipped in. Sasuke pulled a flashlight out of his sweatshirt pocket and flipped it on, shining it around the room in steady sweeps. It was indeed a short hall, a couple fancy vases and lace-covered couches spaced evenly and nicely against the ugly wallpaper. There was a wide staircase leading up into pitch black darkness, the wooden railings scrubbed, but with a thin layer of dust lining them, adding to the gloom.

"It doesn't look like there's anything in here." Neji said quietly as he locked the door behind us. "Maybe we should check upstairs, we might get lucky."

"Right." Sasuke said quietly. "Let's move. TenTen, hold onto my flashlight for me, I need both hands." I took the light from him and nodded, and we went.

As we climbed the stairs cautiously, I dragged my fingers along the railing, picking up dust as I went along, and noticed something on the walls. I shined the flashlight along, and I climbed even slower to take in picture frames along the wall. There was a picture of an young woman, probably the younger version of the woman that had once owned this house, and a man by her side, their arms around each other, smiling kindly at the camera.

I smiled a bit at the words at the bottom; '_In loving memory of Shehn Zing_.' It must have been her husband. He must have died before her...

"TenTen, what are you doing?! Hurry up!" Neji hissed down at me.

I sped up, hopping up the last couple steps, and stopped next to him. As we walked down a dank hallway, I fell into step beside him. "Neji, why do you have to do this to her?"

"What are you talking about?" he muttered, sounding annoyed.

"The woman that owned this house. Why do you guys have to do this to her? Can't you leave her house in peace when she's dead? Can't you respect her?"

"I hope you know you're talking about yourself as well. You're doing it too."

"Not entirely of my own will." I said defiantly. "Come on, Neji, don't you feel, you know, guilty?"

"No. She's dead, she's not coming back, and I don't believe in spirits. There's no reason to feel guilty for no one."

"She's not no one, she's a person!"

"_Was_. She's nothing now."

I stared at him, my mouth falling open, as we came to a halt by a door and Naruto busied himself with picking the lock on it. "How can you be so heartless?! Don't you have any emotions?!"

"Yes, I do. Annoyance, and I'm feeling it right now. Shut up."

I couldn't believe it. What was wrong with these people?! Cold blooded killers…maybe I'd never really thought of them much before. Maybe I really _didn't_ belong here after all…

Neji seemed to notice my furious appall, and he sighed. "TenTen, we _have_ to do this. It's for us, for _all_ of us. It's not being selfish, it's being resourceful. It's better than this stuff just sitting here uselessly, right?"

I nodded slowly. "I guess, when you put it that way…" I said quietly, feeling my opinion change beneath my feet.

"We're good, no one's in this room." Sasuke said suddenly. I looked over and saw him opening the door, and we all entered a small guest bedroom. I looked around at all the items in the room, and Naruto immediately hopped around the room, looking at everything.

"What's he doing…?" I asked Sasuke and Neji as Naruto started flinging sheets off of the beds and shaking them.

"Looking for the hidden money." Sasuke said simply walking to a bed and turning a pillow inside out. "Eh, not in here."

Neji sighed, rolling his eyes. "You could be a bit quieter."

I strolled around the room myself, shining the flashlight on random things, a closet, a bed, an armchair…a chest? I stopped where I was as Sasuke and Naruto thumped around and stilled the small orb of light on a small, lace-covered chest at the foot of a bed. I walked towards it and kneeled down, then opened it. Dust flew up to greet me, and I coughed just a bit before looking inside. There were a couple photo albums in there. I picked one up and blew the dust off of it before looking inside, and I smiled as I saw the same woman and man, at the beach, at Christmas, birthday parties, with friends…

"What are you doing?"

I jumped in surprise when I saw Neji crouch down next to me, then laughed quietly. "Um, nothing, just looking." I said quickly, closing the photo album with a snap and setting it inside again.

"Why were you smiling like that?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.

I looked back to the chest. "Well…these pictures are just sort of sweet, you know?" I whispered. I picked up another photo album, feeling Neji's eyes watching me the entire time, and opened it again, but suddenly something fell out and to the ground.

Neji narrowed his eyes and I picked it up and handed it to him. "It's an envelope." He said, holding it up between two fingers so I could see. I shined the flashlight on it.

"Should we open it?"

"No." He said, and suddenly he stood, handing the envelope back to me. "This is the money. It's in a check inside this envelope, the light shined through it and I could see. Uchiha, we have it. TenTen found it."

"Right! Nice going, TenTen. Let's get out of here!"

"You have it, huh?" We all whipped around when an unfamiliar voice spoke.

I winced as the lights suddenly flickered on in the room, and six boys burst in through the doors, crowding into the room. One of them stood in front, arms crossed. He had deathly pale skin, even paler than Sasuke's, black hair, and eyes that looked like two chunks of coal, gazing lifelessly at none other than me. The scariest part of him, however, was that smile on his face. One look at it, and all I could think was 'creepy…'.

"Sai." Sasuke said simply under his breath.

"Hey, boys, look. Uchiha's got a new one on his team." Sai said calmly as Sasuke and Naruto took steps backwards, pulling out their guns, to stand by Neji, who was right by my side. "And it's a cute little girl, too. Isn't she adorable?" I rolled my eyes in disgust. Did he honestly think he was funny? And still, he continued. "What position are you on, hunny? Hmm?"

"Um, don't call me that." I said, finally cracking. "It makes you sound like a child molester or something. How old are you really, twenty three?"

I saw his lips twitch from his smile, but he still kept his calm as the boys behind him started to laugh. "She can even throw insults, how impressive. But I'm still curious, Uchiha, what's the point of having her?"

Sasuke sighed. "Might as well tell you." he said. I noticed how calm he was, and it almost inspired me. It was like he was talking to his best friend since childhood. "She's Hyuuga's new sidekick."

Sai's eyes widened a bit in surprise. "_Her_? This _girl_ is Hyuuga's new sidekick?!" The boys behind him laughed even harder in disbeleif. "I find that hard to believe! You, girl, give me the money, and I won't hurt you, alright? I don't care who you are, but it's obvious you can't fight. So hand over the money and leave, and we won't give you any trouble."

I stared at him. And I'd had enough, at last. With one movement, I pulled out the gun and fired it at the ceiling. Dust flew from the newly formed crack, and some white powdery substance sprinkled around us like snow. I noticed Neji and Sasuke staring at me, looking shocked, but Naruto jumping up and down and grinning like he was watching his favorite TV show, and the boys behind Sai all taking steps backward, and I smirked a bit as I glared at Sai, who just stared blankly at me, just a flicker of curiosity and surprise in his eyes.

"Don't _ever_ try to make me out like a bratty little girl." I said dangerously. "They put me on this position for a reason that I didn't even know, but now I get it." I pointed my gun straight at Sai's face. "I'm way _better_ than that!"

Sai watched me slowly, then the smile was back. "Mhm? Well, then…Boys, you take care of these four. If you manage to get the money, I'll be waiting in a car out front with everyone else. It's nice to meet you, girl, whatever your name is."

"It's TenTen." Neji said suddenly. I glanced sideways at him quickly, and I saw him staring at Sai, no emotion whatsoever on his face except what looked to me, surprisingly, like pride.

But Sai only nodded once, then left.

The other boys all took out their guns, and I bit my lip. '_What do I do…?_' I thought desperately, looking around for ideas. But then my eyes caught on Neji, and I saw him step in front of me and pull out his own gun, and I knew; '_I'm not going to let someone else fight for me. Not after what I just said_.'

"Neji, move it, would you?" I asked.

"You can't fight, TenTen." he said quietly. "There's too many."

And then it started. Sasuke and Naruto lunged at the boys all of a sudden, and Neji backed me up even further. "What are you doing?!" I yelled over gun shots.

"Covering you like Sasuke told me to."

"Sasuke _also _said to let me fight!" I punched Neji's back furiously as I pulled out my gun.

"Would you rather follow your leader's orders or get yourself killed?!" Neji shouted back over his shoulder, frustrated.

"I'm not going to get myself killed! Can't you just let me hit one person?!"

"You're not going to be able to hit anyone!"

"I never miss, I told you!"

"Who are you, Annie Oakley?!"

"HYUUGA, TENTEN, STOP FIGHTING UNLESS YOU WANT ME TO KILL YOU!" Sasuke roared as he tried not to get killed himself, probably furious at the fact that we were arguing like this while he and Naruto were outnumbered and trying to keep so many boys from getting to us. He was currently on the ground trying not to get punched senseless by the boy on top of him, and Naruto looked like he was having the time of his life, taking on three at once. "TENTEN, YOU CAN SHOOT _ONE PERSON_, THEN GET BACK BEHIND HYUUGA BEFORE YOU GET KILLED!"

Neji and I both frowned, but Neji sighed and stepped away from me, and I was soon greeted by boys running at me. I glared at them and held out my gun, but Neji pushed me aside, and a bullet whistled past my face. I glanced at him and grinned. It was the first time someone had shot at me, and Neji was the one that saved me. "Thanks."

"Be careful." he said simply, and with that he ran into the fight.

It was probably the most exciting thing I'd ever seen, Neji fighting. He jumped at a boy and pinched his neck quickly, and the boy crumpled to the ground, unable to move, struck by the 'gentle fist'. I felt like I was watching an action movie, or maybe a commercial for one, with the most good-looking celebrity they could find acting as the star. No one even touched Neji, and anyone who tried was soon down on the floor, writhing in pain. Soon enough Neji had taken down four of them in some sort of smooth, sexy, natural way!

As I watched him, distracted, a boy snuck up behind me, and I noticed at the last minute and whipped around. He grinned crookedly and lunged, gun out, but I gave a little shriek and shot my own gun at him, and, surprisingly, it worked. It hit his leg, and he was down. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared.

Neji straightened up, breathing a little heavily, his eyes glued to me. "TenTen…how did you do that…?"

"D-Do what, I just shot him!" I stuttered, backing away, immediately feeling guilty. _'First person in my life I've ever shot...why does it feel so strange...?!_'The boys all suddenly took action, grabbing their friends and lifting them off the floor, dragging themselves from the room, blood now staining the grey carpet.

"We win!" Naruto shouted. "Yeah!" He high fived with a grinning Sasuke.

Neji still looked surprised. "TenTen, Sai's gang is known for it's speed. Barely anyone can hit them, they always avoid the bullet. That's why I'm best for fighting, because I do close range…Yet you're new to this, and you already hit someone…?!"

I grinned, still a little shaky, and pocketed my gun. "I told you, didn't I? I never miss!" I sighed. "Now I'm tired and hungry, can we go…?"

"Yeah, let's move." Sasuke said, snatching the envelope with the check inside from my hands and opened the door. "Nice going, TenTen. You're on your own, next time, I think you can manage yourself."

Neji smirked a little as we left the room. "Maybe I really am underestimating you. I guess I wont anymore."

"Yes!" I cheered, punching the air. When Neji gave me a look, I stopped and laughed nervously. '_There I go again, acting like a fifth grader_...' I thought bitterly.

"That's not necessarily a good thing." Neji said suddenly. I looked up at him, and saw a sly smile on his face. "I'm not going easy on you anymore when we're training. You're in for a rough time."

I stared at him, wide eyed, and gulped. Suddenly I wasn't hungry anymore.

**X**X**X**X**X**

Mahaha, Neji's evil. x) ok, don't worry, it will get scarier and darker and...more angsty as it goes on. trust me. i'm good at angst. ;)  
Re-read & Edited while listening to: _Never Alone_ by _Barlow Girl_ :D  
Like it? Love it? Hate it? Don't care about it? Review it! ;)  
Shoot for the stars: Oh, let's say 190. :)  
thanks for reading!  
xmarachanx


	7. Similarities

Hey guys!  
Thanks so much to:  
Uchiha Sayaka, Princess of Storms, Daisy Valentine, Mako.Ten, Kyra-Mitsu, kimiko77, Merciless Ruby, Uchiha, Nami, Hikoru, Aniki, Shikyo no Amatsu Shinsei, XxXPippinXxX, Kick-Assing-Kunoichi, Akemi Akira, SparkyCasper, Jackie, robyn-chan, ShinobiXAngel, werewolfluver147, Sunny Soul, .xXx.hikari.midnight.xXx., DarkAnimeAngel13, Nerd4eva, Pnkrockninja101, xXxKimakoxXx, MidniteCurse4Eternity, Shenhui, That Little Bunny, EmiKoizumi.x, Youkai Koneko, Pandastacia, TheBeastlyKunoichi, HisEyesMyName-AmBeR159, tentenXshikamaru, INYO  
Enjoy!

**X**X**X**X**X**

**H**e**a**r **N**o **E**v**i**l  
_See no evil. Speak no evil._

**D**i**s**c**l**a**i**m**e**r: Oh emm eff gee, I don't own Naruto. :)  
**S**o**n**g: _She's a Rebel_ by _Greenday_ :)

**C**h. **S**e**v**e**n - **Similarities

_She's a rebel  
She's a saint  
She's salt of the earth  
And she's dangerous_

**T**e**n**T**e**n

"Oh my _god_! TenTen, TenTen, you're bleeding! What happened, are you okay?! You hurt yourself, didn't you?! What do you need, I'll give you anything, okay?! You're gonna be okay, TenTen, I-!"

"My _god_, Sakura, for the love of everything good and similar to Hinata in this world, _shut your fucking mouth_ just _once _in your life!" I cried. No, I was _not_ being a hypocrite, as being just as overdramatic as my close-to-hyperventilating friend. She had been going on like this for a while now, as soon as Ino and I stepped onto the porch together and she had swung out of the front door and started blabbing.

"Oh, that's what I get for being concerned about my friend?" Sakura muttered darkly.

"Could you let us inside at least?" Sasuke asked loudly. He and Neji behind me looked pretty annoyed at being blocked out of their own house by this pink-haired girl.

She rolled her eyes and went back inside, and the rest of us crowded on in. I looked around the empty living room. "Where is everyone?"

"Oh, I was just helping Hinata in the kitchen, she's cooking dinner. Shikamaru's in his room sleeping or something. Temari-san left, I think she said she's taking a drive." Sakura said this as she sat down on the sofa, crossed one leg over the other, and opened her huge, thick, heavy medical skills book on her lap. She looked up at us. "Why are you so late, anyways? It's, like, six thirty."

"We had to drive Kiba's car back to his house and walk back here." Sasuke explained.

I nodded. It was true. After we dropped off Kiba's car in the parking lot in front of his small apartment where he lived with his mom and older sister, we walked back here. Ino and Naruto talked to me a lot on the way there and shared a bunch of their stories of different challenges and pranks and raids and even a police chase that they had gotten caught in. Apparently the police in Konoha weren't really active, but when they _did_ get active, it was only because they were drunk, and they were dangerous. And gangs had better watch out.

I sat down next to Sakura on the sofa. "What are you doing? Do you have a test tomorrow or something?"

"No, I'm just studying randomly." Sakura said simply.

I stared at her. "Are you being sarcastic…?"

"_No_, TenTen. Unlike you, I _like_ learning about things that I'm interested in."

"Yeah, because unlike me, you're a weirdo." I muttered. "Sakura, are you serious, you're actually reading that for enjoyment?"

"Sort of. And also because, again, unlike you, I'm actually dedicated to something."

"…What are you implying…?"

"That you're just flying through life without a clue." Sakura said simply, shrugging, as Sasuke sat down at his armchair and Neji sat down at his. Naruto and Ino were watching us like a television screen, until Naruto deemed it the time to actually watch the real thing and sat down on the arm of Sasuke's chair, flicking the remote.

Ino beamed. "Yay, my shows on!" She flung herself on the other sofa and vaulted over it so she was on top of the back of it. She sat, her legs dangling down, feet bouncing against the smooth material, eyes glued to the screen.

Sakura laughed a little and turned back to her book, tucking a strand of her silky pink hair behind her ear. Naruto groaned. "I wanted to watch something, Ino!"

"No way, Naruto, this is my favorite soap opera, you can wait four hours till it's over!"

"Two hours?" Sasuke asked incredulously.

"Yeah, it's a marathon." Ino said happily.

"Ugh, I'm bored. There's nothing to do." Naruto muttered. "Teme, Neji, wanna go do something?"

"Nope." Sasuke said. He and Neji had both gotten out their cell phones and were texting. "Talking to Kiba."

"Neji?"

"Talking to Lee. Busy." Neji said simply.

"You guys suck!" Naruto whined. "I'm so _bored_!"

"Go help Hyuuga's cousin in the kitchen or something, then." Sasuke said distractedly.

"Hey, that's a good idea!" Naruto said, and suddenly he sped off to the kitchen.

"You think that's such a good idea…?" I asked Sasuke, looking at him and away from the kitchen door which closed with a clack.

He just shrugged. "I doubt he'll annoy her too much."

"Good, cause if he does, I'll make sure he wakes up with a neck brace tomorrow morning." I said simply. I sighed and leaned back in the sofa. "Sakura, where am I bleeding again…? I hurt all over…"

"Get used to it." Neji said as Sakura put down her medical skills book, not looking up from his cell phone himself.

Sakura and I ignored him, and she turned my face to the side. "Ah, it's just a scratch on your cheek."

"That's from training with Neji, Sakura. It's _been_ there." I said, rolling my eyes at her stupidity.

"Oh, whoops. Forgot." Suddenly she turned to Sasuke and Neji. "Hey, wait a minute! You two, stand up!"

Sasuke and Neji slowly looked up at her from their cell phones. "What…?" Sasuke asked, raising an eyebrow. They obviously weren't used to, _and_ didn't like, getting bossed around.

But Sakura wasn't one to let an order pass by without being followed. "I _said_ stand up!" she repeated, frowning in disapproval at their hesitation. "I want to see your injuries."

"…What injuries?" Neji asked, setting his cell phone down on the coffee table. Sasuke mimicked him.

"Just stand, alright?"

They both shared a look, then shrugged and stood, and she immediately closed her book with a heavy snap, stood, and snagged Sasuke by the arm, yanking him into the center of the room. He tripped a bit and caught himself, then watched her, confused, as she walked in a circle around him. She narrowed her eyes. "What _happened_ to you?! You're totally messed up!" she said, noticing his ripped sweatshirt, dirty, bloodstained jeans, and bruised face.

"Um…fighting…?" he asked uncertainly. Neji snorted and Sasuke sent him a look, but Neji only excused himself quickly from the room.

"TenTen, I'll be in the backyard if you feel like training." he said, then snickered a bit at Sasuke's glower as he left. I laughed a bit too and turned back to watch Sakura and Sasuke, interested, as closely as Ino was staring at the television screen.

"Alright, well, it looks like there's a couple cuts on your face, so I'll need to get those." Sakura said, as if she was talking to herself instead of him. "Before you get an infection too, those look really gross. And look at your hand!"

"My…hand…?" He held it up and blinked in surprise. "Hey, I didn't even notice it!"

I felt my eyebrows lift a bit in surprise. His knuckle was oozing blood, which dripped a bit and plopped down to stain his shoes. Sakura sighed. "Of course you didn't. Well, come on! I'm taking you to the healing room."

"What?! But these things are so small!"

"Yes, they're small, but there's a lot of them, and when there's a lot of them they tend to band together to make you weaker, as weak as if you've been stabbed in a vital organ with a long skinny blade." Sasuke and I both gulped at her logic, and I suddenly felt a bit queasy. "Oh, but if you'd rather be weak, then go ahead, let them stay. Be open to all sorts of bacteria and germs! It's fine with me. It's not my funeral!"

In a flash Sasuke had muttered, "Come on already." and pulled a triumphantly smirking Sakura out of the room.

I laughed. "Well, there goes my entertainment." I said, leaning back into the sofa again.

"Go train with Neji if you've got nothing else to do." Ino suggested, still not taking her eyes away from the television. "Brock, how could you do that to Cady?!" she added in a whisper.

I smiled a bit. That didn't seem like such a bad idea.

**H**i**n**a**t**a

"Ne, Hinata-chan?"

I jumped, startled, and turned, sweating, to look at Naruto. '_Oh dear…I was just spacing out again, wasn't I?_' I thought, smiling at him nervously. '_When people break me out of those things, I tend to…well…_' "U-Umm…Naruto-kun! Is there something you need?" I stuttered.

He grinned at me. "Oh, nothing really. What are you cooking?"

I stood properly. I was leaning down and peering into the oven. "Oh, um, it's baked potatoes."

"Potatoes can be baked…?"

I couldn't help it. I laughed. "_Yes_, Naruto-kun." I said between giggles.

He laughed too. "Hey, come on, I never knew that, okay?!" he said playfully. When we had finished laughing there was a bit of a smiling, awkward silence, then Naruto snapped his fingers. "Oh, that's right! I came back here to help you make dinner! Of course, I'm pretty inexperienced at cooking things, and since I've never even _heard_ of baked potatoes, I'd need your help. So can I have permission to be taught by you?"

I laughed again. "Of course!"

His pearly teeth glinted in a smile. "Good! I'll do my best, then!"

**S**a**k**u**r**a

"Alright, sit down." I ordered Sasuke as he dropped my wrist. He heaved a sigh and sat down on the bed.

"You're annoying, you know that?" he muttered.

"Mhm. I'm also the one that could save your sorry ass in the future, so don't treat me like some innocent little brat." I said these harsh words calmly as I moved around the room, opening the first aid kit. "Alright, then, let's see your hand first, it's the worst damaged." He held up his hand and I squinted at it in the dim light. "Yup, just as I thought. You've lost a lot of layers of skin."

"Huh?!"

"Calm down, it's not that big of a deal." I said, rolling my eyes. "At least not as bad as it sounds. Your skin is made up of a lot of layers of cells, and even if some layers get damaged, the cells will recreate themselves soon enough. You'll be fine as long as you put some medicine on it and keep it wrapped up." I said this as I fished around in the first aid kit.

"Whoa…how do you _know _these things…?"

"Please. That's _general biology_ material. _Everyone_, knows it...or at least I thought they did…" I added darkly under my breath. I finally got out everything I needed and set it on the bedside table, then turned to him and picked up the disinfectant. "Let me see." I said again, and he held up his hand again. I took his hand firmly and poured the disinfectant and medicine over the wound. He winced a little, and I bit my lip. I'd never really healed an actual conscious person like this before, and I didn't like hurting them. "Sorry." I said quietly. "I should have warned you, this stuff stings a bit."

"Hn. Don't worry about me, I can deal with pain." he said.

I laughed a bit. "I believe you on that. Most people would be telling me to stop by now." I said conversationally as I took the bandages. "And this is going to hurt even worse…you ready?"

"Yeah."

"Okay." I measured the bandages carefully, then cut the length off with the tiny pair of scissors that Hinata had gotten me so kindly. After that I began to wrap them tightly around his thumb's knuckle, the wound area, and the palm. He winced again but said or did nothing to prevent me. Even so, I felt bad stretching the white material, which was slowly being stained red by his blood, firmly across that wound.

To distract me from the guilt and Sasuke from the pain, I started up a conversation that I had been hoping to have alone with him for a while now. "Sasuke…about your family…"

He stiffened immediately, but I didn't back down. I had expected this, after all. "What about them…?" he asked in a low, dangerous voice.

I was scared, yeah. But I did not shy away from the subject, I did not say '_Oh never mind…_' and leave us in a small, awkward silence. I wasn't one to give up. "Tell me about them." I said, shrugging, as I continued wrapping the bandages. "They're all…well…not alive anymore, right…?"

"No. One of them is alive, probably." he muttered, his voice still furious and scarily quiet.

"Probably…?" I asked. '_Well, at least I'm getting him to talk, no matter how angry he probably is at me for bringing up the subject._' I added in my head.

"Itachi, my older brother…" he growled.

"How do you know he's alive? And what's up with Itachi? Why did he kill your parents?"

"I don't have to tell you." he said, his voice raising a bit. Almost in a warning.

But I still did not run away. "You know…you're really a childish person." I said, my voice lighthearted. "You think you're the only one who has problems in the world, don't you?" He said nothing. "Yup. You do. Well that's stupid. What about me? I have problems."

"Heh. What kind of problems can someone like _you_ possibly have? An A _minus_ on your report card?" he asked sarcastically, snorting, the anger still evident in his bitterly amused voice.

I laughed a bit. "As disappointing as that may be for someone like me, no, that's not the biggest of my problems. Ever wondered about my father? About what happened to him?" He said nothing, and I smirked. '_Jackpot…_' "He was killed by someone in my own family. Do you know who that is?" He still said nothing, and I sighed. "My mother, Tsunade." Sasuke looked up slowly at me, and his eyes looked interested suddenly, confused. I nodded grimly. "When I was only four…I can still vaguely remember it…my mother was experimenting with different chemicals. My father was nearby, and one of her experiments went wrong...so he shielded her with his body. He saved her life at the cost of his own. And I saw it all from the doorway of the room…"

"…That really happened…?" Sasuke asked quietly, relaxing.

I had finally finished wrapping his wound, and I went to get some more medicine for the cuts on his face, pouring disinfectant and antibacterial on cotton balls. "Mhm." I said quietly. "It wasn't my mother's fault, it wasn't anyone's intentions. But she still feels horrible about it. And I'll never forget the gory-ness of it all. It's scarred me. And that's not all. I've been treated like an outcast my entire life…because of how I look."

"…How you look…?"

I nodded slowly as I kept up my business with the cotton balls. "Pink hair, green eyes, and apparently I have a gigantic forehead to go with it…Who wouldn't think I'm a freak?" I muttered. "People would always make fun of the fact that someone so odd had such a normal, common name like Sakura Haruno. Everyone laughed at me…except TenTen and Hinata." I smiled a bit as I kept up my work.

Sasuke was silent as he contemplated this, and I knew that he _was_ thinking it over, because he was watching me carefully. Then he finally said, "Itachi killed them."

I turned to Sasuke in surprise, confused. He looked down at his knees, his hands curled into fists in his lap.

"My older brother Itachi killed my parents, along with the rest of my family, in front of my eyes when I was only six, and left me to live with the burden of them. I remember coming home late from school. Then, I lived with my brother, mom and dad, aunt and uncle, and grandparents. I looked up to Itachi…I actually thought he was the greatest person alive. He was my idol, I wanted to be just like him…But when I came home, I remember I was scared. All the lights were off, and it was quiet. I ran upstairs and into my parent's bedroom just in time to see Itachi kill my parents right then and there, and then let them fall on top of the rest of my family, in a bloody heap on the floor."

I bit my lip, feeling my throat close up tightly in guilt and empathy.

"I screamed at him; Why did he do it, kill me too…But he just called me foolish…and left…without a reason why..."

I stared at Sasuke, unable to move. '_I could never have guessed…that Sasuke would be upset over something this…this horrible…I knew that it was bad, but not…this bad…_'

"I promised myself from then on that if I ever saw him again, I would murder him, no matter what the consequences were…" Sasuke continued quietly. "That's one of my only goals in life…"

"But weren't you feeling awful after that…?" I whispered, my voice wavering, close to tears. "I would never be able to live if something like that happened to me…"

Sasuke gave a harsh laugh. "You think I didn't want to kill myself? No, I tried to, I actually tried to. But, again, I was only six. I didn't exactly succeed in anything. Didn't get close, really. And so I went into a depression. It was pretty terrible. I felt so alone…like I was the only person in the world sometimes."

"But you weren't…" I said quietly.

He smiled and shook his head slowly. "No, I wasn't. There was, of course, Naruto and Neji." I raised an eyebrow. What did they have to do with anything? I knew that those three were really close, and that Naruto was apparently a 'life saver', but I didn't quite understand the details. "They sort of saved me from that." he explained. "Naruto was the first one. He came to me and we became friends instantly. I don't really know how it happened. At school we were in all the same classes together, and we were always rivals, trying to be the best. We became so close…well, I guess as close as we are now, we can't _get_ any closer. We're practically related. It's the same with Neji. I met the guy in middle school when he moved off here, and…well…we got in a fight." Sasuke laughed and closed his eyes. "I remember it. Hyuuga won, and knocked me unconscious while he was at it. When I woke up, though, he was there, and there was an icepack on my head. We shared stories…he told me how his father was killed for his uncle, how he was treated like shit…and we bonded, I guess. He bonded more with us when he met Naruto, though. Naruto just has that way around him…No matter who it is, or how long they've known him, everyone wants to be his friend."

I smiled. "Yeah, I sort of realized that about the guy too…" I said, nodding. Then I frowned. "Well, story time's over."

"…What…?"

"Time to heal your face!"

"Hey, my face is fine, alright?! I don't need it to be healed! I've gone through these things a million times and never had to be healed like this before, what's your problem?!"

"Alright. Let your face get all blotchy and swollen then. It's fine with me."

"…You are honestly the most annoying girl I've ever met…"

"Don't tempt me, buddy, I'm trying to help you."

**T**e**n**T**e**n

"Ah!" I cried out in pain as I was thrown into the fence, which gave a sharp rattling clang and shook with my weight. I groaned and got to my feet again.

"When are you just going to give up?" Neji called through the dust that we had kicked up. "Just stay down and relax."

I narrowed my eyes and ran at him yet again. I managed to punch him in the shoulder, then slid beneath his legs and tried to get him in the back, but he grabbed both my wrists and threw me away from him yet again. But this time I twisted around, and my feet hit the ground, and I skidded backwards, then ran at him yet again, smirking. "I'm not giving up!"

He narrowed his eyes and slid into his ready position, then dodged my punch and tried to counter attack. I dodged a kick, ducked a punch, and managed to punch him in the stomach once before he punched me right back in the same place. We both stumbled backwards and clutched our waists, Neji recovering quicker. Both of us were panting, our breaths coming in heaving, uneven bursts, and sometimes we coughed a little bit. Dirt and dust stained our cloths, arms, and faces, and there were small scratches all over every vulnerable spot of skin.

We stood there, staring at each other and panting for a bit, then I started laughing, and he soon joined in, wearily. "Okay, let's stop before we kill each other." I said between laughs, putting up a hand as a sign of truce.

He nodded, stopping his laughing, and smiled almost fondly. "You've gotten better in just a day, I'm impressed."

I grinned. "Thanks! But I got really tired really quick this time."

"It's because you've already gone on a challenge today, that's probably why. I'm pretty tired myself."

I looked down at myself and rubbed my arms, moaning out loud. "Agh…I hurt all over…" I complained. '_I feel like I've been climbing the tallest tree in the world_.' I thought bitterly as Neji watched me. Then that reminded me of something. "Hey…I haven't climbed any trees in Konoha yet…" I said quietly, glancing up at the trees.

"What?"

I grinned, ignoring Neji. "Maybe I should try right now." I ran at the fence and hopped onto it, then grabbed the branch of the tree with both of my hands and swung myself into the air, tucking my arms and legs into my to do a flip, then landed on a branch on my hands and knees. I stood up slowly and walked along the branch, arms out to the side.

"What do you think you're doing?" Neji called up to me.

I stood still on the branch and looked down at him, shrugging. "Climbing a tree." I called back. "I haven't in a while."

"If you fall I'm not helping you." he said, smirking. Our voices echoed through the now darkening street, and I noticed how good-looking he was, his head tilted back, his eyes narrowed playfully at me, hair falling back over his shoulders.

I smirked right back, and then he lost his own smirk to trade an expression of surprise as I leapt from the branch and landed gracefully and catlike on the ground next to him. He took a step back and looked down at me as I stood up. "What was that…?"

I shrugged a little, meanwhile cherishing the broken mask he usually wore to cover up for real shock. "I learned how to jump from high places a while ago. I like to jump from trees. It makes me feel like I'm flying…like I'm free, ya know…?"

He was staring at me, and his face was hard to figure out. He opened his mouth to say something, but he was interrupted when Sakura called out the door, "Come in and stop beating each other up, dinner's ready, and if Hinata's cooking goes cold, I'll blame you!"

I rolled my eyes. "Coming! _Mother_." I added under my breath.

"I heard that, Panda! You want some fist in that big mouth of yours?!"

"Yeah, you go ahead and try."

**H**i**n**a**t**a

"You're serious?! You've never even _heard_ of baked potatoes?!" Sakura cried.

I caught Naruto's glance and we both stifled our laughs. It felt good, for me, to share an inside joke with Naruto already. And it was nice, working in the kitchen with him. He was so willing and strong, and learned quickly. He listened to directions carefully and eagerly, and he laid them out himself, not perfectly, but surprisingly agilely. And the whole time, he kept a smile on both of our faces, making the whole experience _fun_.

"Nope." Sasuke said simply, tilting back in his chair and setting his shoes on the table. "I didn't know they could be cooked."

"_Baked_!" Sakura corrected him exasperatedly as TenTen set a plate of baked potatoes down in front of everyone's spot at the table. Apparently Temari had just come back, and she had taken a drive down to one of her brothers' houses.

That reminded me of something. "Ano…Temari-chan?"

She looked up from the magazine she was reading and smiled at me. "What's up, Hina?"

"I'm sorry if this offends you in any way, but I don't know much about your brothers…"

Temari smiled. "Oh! Yeah, my two older brothers, Gaara and Kankerou." ((A/N: I know that they're originally her younger brothers…just bear with me for sake of the story…:p)) "Kankerou's the oldest. They're both out of college now, and they both run their own gangs. Really sophisticated gangs at that. They're pretty popular in Konoha, and have a well known rep. I know that Sasuke and Neji really look up to them, right boys?"

Both of them just grunted, and TenTen laughed. "Well that's cool, you're the little sister of two really good gang leaders." she said as she sat at her own spot at the table and we all dug in, except Sakura and Sasuke. Sakura was struggling to get his feet off the table, and he kept kicking them back up, until she finally punched him in the head, _hard_, and he dragged them off slowly while rubbing the offended spot and wincing in pain.

Temari shrugged. "I guess you could say that. But it's really kind of suck-ish sometimes. They expect me to live up to them when I'm only a driver."

"A really good one." TenTen corrected her, smiling. "You and Ino are _crazy_ behind the wheel. I've never seen people drive so fast."

"And you don't crash into everyone, unlike a _certain_ driver here." Sakura said loudly, glaring pointedly at TenTen.

"You suck at driving?" Temari asked TenTen, smiling a bit.

TenTen laughed nervously. "Sort of…? I dunno, I just get distracted easily when I'm driving. It's boring."

"Not to us!" Ino cried. "Temari and I started driving like this when we were only thirteen! We would always go over to each other's houses and watch car races, and when we turned thirteen we'd had enough waiting and grabbed some cars of our own! We drove like crazy and ever since then we've been in love with it!"

Temari laughed. "Mhm, we pledged our hearts and souls to driving anythying with a motor. Except me, I can share my heart and soul with this lazy ass." She knocked Shikamaru on the head, who grunted in annoyance, a bit of a smile on his face.

"Hey, this is _good_!" Naruto shouted suddenly, changing the subject completely. _That_ was the outburst that started a competition...

I jumped a little, startled, and turned to look at him and Sasuke, who were suddenly stuffing their faces sloppily with the potatoes I had made. "What are you doing?! You're going to get sick eating like that!" Sakura shouted.

Sasuke and Naruto ignored her and their eyes flicked up to meet each other in an electrifying glare. I could almost feel the tingle of competitive hatred as they shoveled the meal nonstop in their mouths. Ino and Neji both smirked and leaned forward on the table. "Neji-kun, I bet twenty on Naruto-kun!"

"Nah, I bet on Uchiha." Neji said, fishing around in his pocket. "How about twenty five?"

"That's good! Tema-chan, what about you?"

"Mmm, I'd say on Sasuke."

"No, Naruto hasn't eaten all day, I say Naruto." Shikamaru said with a yawn.

Sakura, TenTen and I all gaped as everyone at the table watched Naruto and Sasuke eating faster and faster. Then finally they both stood up at the same exact time, held up their plates like two holy grails, and shouted, "I want some more!" ((A/N: From teh uber anime scene. x3))

Sakura and TenTen were the first to break the silence. TenTen burst out laughing and nearly fell off her chair, while Sakura stood and slammed her hands on the table, yelling, "You _raced_?!" at the top of her lungs.

I sighed and covered my face with my hand. '_These people…!_'

"Damn, it's a tie!" Ino and Temari both said at the same time.

Neji sighed. "Shit, I was at least hoping for some money to pay for a new gun, I've been saving."

"And you guys _bet_ on them?!" Sakura shrieked again, looking about ready to massacure everyone in the room.

"You're the craziest people I've ever met in my entire life!" TenTen cried with mirth.

I slumped even further into my seat, trying to block out all the yelling. The only thing that went through my mind was, not '_Boys..._', but '_Gangs_…'

**T**e**n**T**e**n

"Temari or Ino, either one of you _is_ going to take us home, right?" Sakura asked as she and I helped Hinata clean the dishes.

"I will!" Ino volunteered, raising a hand in the air excitedly.

"Mhm. I'd rather stay here." Temari mumbled sleepily, playing with Shikamaru's hair as he typed away at his laptop on top of the table.

I laughed a bit as I scrubbed at a plate. "Alright, you're it, Ino." I said jokingly. "Agh, this plate won't clean!"

"Jesus, TenTen, you're helpless." Sakura muttered, snatching the plate from me and cleaning it herself.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I can't clean, I know. It's not my fault."

"What do you mean it's not your fault? Is it someone else's?" Temari asked sarcastically.

Sakura smiled. "No, and that's the point."

"What…?" Ino asked, dragging out the 'a' with a long accented curve to her voice.

"She didn't have any parents since the age of six, when both of them were killed in a car accident. Right in front of her, because-"

"_Sakura_." I interrupted her loudly. I could feel everyone watching me, and I turned away from the sink and leaned against the counter, looking at the ground. '_She should know better than to tell anyone…why they died…_'

Sakura smiled sadly. "Sorry, Tennie…" she said quietly.

"What? What?" Ino piped up quickly.

"Yeah, c'mon, tell us!" Naruto demanded.

"Dobe, Ino, quiet down." Sasuke ordered sharply, and they stopped talking. I felt relief flow through me. I didn't want to have to make up some lie or excuse for them, but the last thing I wanted was for anyone other than the people I told to know the truth.

"We're done." Hinata said suddenly. I smiled at her. She always knew how to change the subject to the right one. "Ino-chan, can you take us home now please?"

"Yeah, 'course I can!" Ino said, beaming and jumping to her feet.

"See you guys tomorrow, we'll pick you up!" Temari called after us.

"Oh yeah, and without our permission too!" Sakura said sarcastically as Ino pushed her along. All she got in response from Temari was a laugh.

And as I was pushed out of the place by Ino's hands pressed into the small of my back, I glanced once back at Neji, and I noticed him staring at me, hard, his eyes narrowed, and I swallowed hard. '_I hope he's not suspicious or anything…cause those eyes can seem to see through anything_…'

**H**i**n**a**t**a

"Wow, it's almost been an entire week at this place." TenTen said as Sakura toweled her hair dry with her pink towel. We all sat on TenTen's bed, TenTen between me and Sakura.

"Yeah, I'm sort of liking this." Sakura said absentmindedly. "It's like a permanent sleepover, right?"

I nodded, giggling. "Or rooming together in college."

TenTen grinned. "And at the same time being blackmailed into a gang?"

"Life couldn't get any better!" Sakura declared sarcastically, and we all started laughing. TenTen sighed happily.

"So what, are we just going to deal with the fact that we'll be in a gang with these guys for the rest of our life?"

Sakura nodded slowly. "I'm not particularly against it myself anymore. I get the sort of feeling that we're helping them with something. I don't know what, but I like it. You know, the feeling of doing good in the world?"

I smiled. "I know what you mean. I feel it too."

"Hey, I guess I'm not jacked, then, cause I do too." TenTen joked.

Sakura laughed a bit and nodded. "And I'm sort of glad I came here, to make a fresh new start. Besides, if I would choose to spend the rest of high school in a house with two people, it would definitely be you two, my best freinds. And I got my wish, right?"

TenTen and I smiled at her. '_They sure can be a handful at times, but most of the time…_' I sighed happily and lay down on my back on TenTen's bed, relaxing from a day's worth of energy and, well, fun. '_Most of the time, I feel like I can relate to Sakura and TenTen better than anyone else._'

**X**X**X**X**X**

Meh…Hey guys, um…Ok, so I know you're all going to hate me for this, but I feel, um, upset with my new name, I guess you could say? And I've gotten recent complaints that people can't recognize me or they don't like it. And I totally see what they mean. so…I think I might change my name back? (_don'tkillmei'mtooyoungetodie!_) :)

Re-Read & Edited while listening to: _Always on My Mind_ by_ Phantom Planet_ :D  
Like it? Love it? Hate it? Dislike it? Don't care about it? Review it! ;)  
Shoot for the stars: Oh…erm, let's say 230? :)  
thanks for reading!  
xmarachanx (?)


	8. Inclusion

Hey guys!  
Ok, a warning. Yes, Sasuke is very OOC in this story. Mah, get off my back about it. I _know_, I _purposely _did that for the sake of the tale! Hold onto your pants, there…Yeah, I'm having people going like, "WTF HAPPENED TO MY SASUKE-KUN, WAH, MOMMY!" and I'm like, "Gomen!"  
Oh, and guess what? I've recently **fallen in love** with a certain character and three certain pairings: the certain character is **Sai**, and the three certain pairings are **InoxSai**, **SakuraxLee**, and **SasukexHinata**. Sai? I absolutely adore him. oh shut up, I know he's kind of weird and all, but I do. InoxSai? Because she's slowly turning away from Sasuke to Sai, and I think that shows that she's matured a lot. SakuraxLee? I have reason to believe it's going to be cannon in the future. and Lee is just so cute, the way he's dedicated his heart and soul to her. :3 don't worry, I'm not writing SakuraxLee, cause everyone likes SasuSaku more (:p), and because SasuSaku's easier to write in my opinion. And SasukexHinata? I dunno, I just like it for some reason. I'm weird like that. (dude, I'm a SasuNaru lover too. maybe it's because Sasuke has so much shmexy to share. x3 but not as much as Neji, Neji can only share his uber amount with TenTen. NejiHina sucks, not because they're from the same family ((I mean, think about Haru and Rin from Fruits Basket)), but because I just can't see them together.) Yeah, yeah, flip out. But no, I will probably not write most of those pairings in the future because I'm just cliché like that. :P  
going on (wow, that was long), here's a big hug to the following reviewers:  
EmiKoizumi.x, Tilders, Merciless Ruby, ShinobiXAngel, Kick - Assing -Kunoichi, SparkyCasper, Pnkrockninja101, Daisy Valentine, Matahari, SMOKe13, Kyra-Mitsu, .xXx.hikari.midnight.xXx, kimiko77, mintxrain, Midori-chan94, AppleMistress, o.O, XxkIkIrOxX, That Little Bunny, Hoshi-Naito, Nerd4eva, WahineDancer, totalnarutofangirl85, c3nal0ving, Akemi Akira, TheBeastlyKunoichi, seesay, Uchiha Sayaka, robyn-chan, Shenhui, Hikoru, Aniki, Uchiha, Nami, DarkAnimeAngel13, Nightshadow Dweller, XxLakotaxX  
Enjoy!

**X**X**X**X**X**

**H**e**a**r **N**o **E**v**i**l  
_See no evil. Speak no evil._

**D**i**s**c**l**a**i**m**e**r: Oh emm eff gee, I don't own Naruto. :)  
**S**o**n**g: _She's a Rebel_ by _Greenday_ :)

**C**h. **E**i**g**h**t - **Inclusion

_She's a rebel  
Vigilante  
Missing link on the brink  
Of destruction_

**T**e**n**T**e**n

"Day five in this shit hole that the natives call '_Ko-no-ha_.'. Today, Hinata cooked us a delicious breakfast, but Sakura ruined it, of course, by screaming about something nobody really cares about. Hinata was unusually cheerful today, I think it has something to do with the fact that it's finally Friday, and Sakura on the other hand was, as usual, bitchy and-"

"You're not even writing in a fucking diary, TenTen, shut your god damn mouth!"

"…If you find this, know that I've apologized for all my sins…_except any that include that kid that tried to grope me, and Sakura_…"

"_Get over here and I'll show you a sin_!"

"Hey, don't kill each other in my car! If you get blood on the seats _I'll_ show you what a sin's all about!" Temari snapped as Sasuke and Naruto laughed loudly and Neji suppressed his snickers with a smirk. Temari was driving us to school the next morning. Shikamaru and Ino were kneeling in the trunk, Temari driving. Neji was in the front seat, Naruto and Sasuke sat, backs to each other, on the ground, and me, Sakura, and Hinata were lined up in the back seats.

I rubbed my head where Sakura had leaned over Hinata and hit me, glowering, and looked out the window with a sigh. "Sheesh, I'm tired…I didn't get to sleep last night till really late…"

"What, were you gaming or something?" Temari teased.

I wrinkled my nose. "No way! I was listening to music, fighting with Sakura, looking through some old photos, fighting with Sakura, getting Hinata and Sakura some pop since they just _had_ to have some, fighting with Sakura…oh, and I was also trying to figure out what Sakura was doing with my cell phone in the living room in the middle of the night…"

"Nothing, nothing." Sakura said loudly, but it was such an obvious lie, the way she laughed nervously.

I quickly whipped out my cell phone from my bag and held it out as far as possible like it was a nuclear weapon. "You didn't do anything to it so it'll explode, did you…?" I asked suspiciously. '_Or maybe so it'll emit poisonous gasses when I open it…_' I pondered thoughtfully.

"No, TenTen, as much as I would like to." Sakura muttered. "Just sit down and be quiet, you're being annoying.

"Maybe to you, but I don't think anyone else seems to mind. I'm just hyper, I was up late last night and it's Friday. Ah, I'm so glad I don't have to deal with school tomorrow!" I said happily, putting my cell phone back.

"Yes, but we do have to deal with mailing our 'monthly performance updates' to the school counselor." Hinata pointed out politely.

Sakura sighed. "Oh, that's right…Thanks for reminding me, Hina-chan."

"What's that?" Temari asked as she swerved around a large car.

Sakura's grip tightened a bit on the seat as the car tipped dangerously at a sharp curve, but she spoke calmly. "Since we got in so much trouble at our last school, they want to make sure we're not getting in as much trouble at this one. We have to have all our teachers sign our little sheets that they gave us, then we mail them to our old counselor, Anko, down in Kiri each month."

"Hah, I miss Anko." I said as an afterthought for her. "She was totally awesome, the way she called us maggots and made me do fifty pushups a day…"

Temari and Ino laughed at that. "That's gotta suck." Temari said. "The stupid monthly thing. Do you think you're doing better in this school than in Kiri?"

"Um, let's see!" Sakura said sarcastically. "In Kiri, not everyone thought we were freaks and glared at us in the halls, we were getting straight A's and B's, excepting TenTen, and we weren't _blackmailed into a gang_!"

"Calm down, Sakura!" Ino piped up. "You guys joined willingly, remember?"

"Just so we wouldn't be blackmailed." I said, sharing a dark look with Sakura. "But it is true...that I haven't gotten into a fight yet." I leaned back into my seat, smirking smugly at Sakura. "Told you I'd stay mellow this year."

"Mellow?! You call joining a gang mellow?!"

"Okay, setting aside the gang part, aren't I doing so much better?! I mean, I only stood up to that ugly blue-haired chick that tried to give you and Hinata some trouble, and I only talked back to _one_ teacher, only because he was a fucking idiot and didn't know what he was talking about…It is _impossible_ for me to miss…"

"Oh TenTen, you got into an argument about your aim…?" Sakura groaned.

"Well she does have a point." Hinata said, giggling a bit.

Ino giggled too. "You three are so cute! Oh, look, we're at school! Yay!"

"You're too cheerful all the time." Neji said, rolling his eyes, turning away from watching me. Yeah, he was watching me, and I noticed. He opened the door while the car was still moving and jumped out. Sasuke jumped out after him, and the two waited for the rest of us as Temari parked the car sloppily and we all got out quickly.

I sighed and looked up at the school. "Well, last day of the week, Sakura, Hinata. Let's make this count, okay? We'll do our best this year!"

Sakura and Hinata both smiled at me. "Yeah!"

I glanced over quickly and noticed Sasuke, Naruto, and Neji all smiling a bit at us, but that was before Ino jumped on Sasuke and asked for a piggy back ride, which he gave her, rolling his eyes, and Temari and Shikamaru joined hands and followed after them. Sasuke looked over his shoulder, and Ino, and called, "Naruto, Sakura, come on, let's go to homeroom!"

Naruto grinned and ran up to Sasuke, and Sakura beamed, looking happy that she was being asked to join them, and ran after them.

Ino dropped off of Sasuke's shoulder and ran over to Hinata. "Temari and Shikamaru are probably going to homeroom together too, so me and you can go to homeroom together, kay?!"

Hinata smiled sweetly. "Of course!" Ino smiled back and linked arms with Hinata, pulling her away.

I laughed as I watched everyone walk off together. It looked like Temari was scolding Shikamaru, telling him not to slouch. Ino was complimenting Hinata on her hair. Naruto was walking between Sakura and Sasuke, who were glaring at him, because he kept poking the two. Suddenly someone pushed me, telling me to start walking. I looked up at Neji, who was raising an eyebrow. "Come on."

I smiled at him happily, nodding, and realizing, suddenly, a feeling of being included. Something I knew neither me, nor Sakura or Hinata, had ever felt before…

**S**a**k**u**r**a

The day went by, and it resulted in overall being absolutely _exhausting_. I groaned as I made my way out of the classroom, trying to keep a hold on my tower of books that I clutched in my arms. '_Why can't I just get a locker?! I don't care if I'm new and they're all filled up, someone could share, right?!_' I thought desperately as a bead of sweat dripped down the side of my forehead.

"Hey, hey! Sakura-chan!"

I smiled as I heard Ino's familiar voice when I exited the school and got to the back parking lot. She was sitting atop Temari's car, legs swinging. Neji and Sasuke were leaning against the hood coolly, backs to each other. Temari and Shikamaru could be seen lounging in the front seats, the windows open. I got over to them at last and just dropped to my knees in front of the car, sighing in relief that I didn't have to walk anymore, holding the tower of books still in my arms.

"Whoa, what's up with the load you have there?" Temari asked out the open window.

I sighed. "I'm not allowed to have a locker since I'm new, neither are TenTen and Hinata. And they loaded me with books because they moved me to advanced classes, just like back in Kiri. But they're harder here, and now I have hours of homework and three tests tomorrow that I _just_ learned about, and all the other kids in the advanced classes are two years older than me!" I let out a breath after my long complaint.

Shikamaru also looked out the window and raised an eyebrow. "Yo, you're wicked smart, huh?"

I blushed a little and shifted my books to another side. "Uh…I guess…?"

Sasuke laughed. "Sometimes I wonder if I picked the right people for the gang." I froze, but he went on; "Now I know I did."

For some reason I felt relief flow through me, and I smiled a bit. It felt good, being needed. But what was confusing was why I felt so relieved that I _was_ needed. Could it be I actually wanted to be here?

"Boo!"

"CHA!" I turned around and punched the attacker, who had snuck up behind me and grabbed me hard by the shoulders. I socked him in the stomach, dropping my books, which fell from they're tall, neat stack like a deck of cards, and he was sent flying. I gasped in surprise when I saw it was none other than Naruto, who rolled on the ground a ways away from us. "Ah! I am so sorry, that's my natural reaction!" I squeaked as he clambered to his feet, coughing and clutching his stomach, pale in the face. He wobbled over to a tree and leaned behind it, then retched, and I groaned in despair and covered my face.

Neji, however, burst into laughter, leaning on the car, head bent in mirth. Sasuke grinned. "Dude! How far did he _go_?!"

"Whoa! Sakura, that's _seriously_ your _natural reaction_?!" Temari asked, looking shocked.

"Cool!" Ino yelled happily, her heels bouncing off the side of the car, smiling widely.

I groaned and covered my face. "I didn't mean to do that…!"

"No, please, do it more often." Neji said after he calmed, smirking.

Sasuke nodded, grinning. "Do it all the time!"

"Do what?" asked a familiar, high pitched feminine voice.

'_Oh no! TenTen and Hinata! TenTen will never let me live this down!_' I gave Sasuke a pleading look that said '_Don't tell her!_' and he seemed to understand as TenTen and Hinata walked up to us.

"Ah, nothing." Sasuke said simply.

"What's up with Naruto?" TenTen asked as Hinata gave a worried look at him. He was hobbling over to us, clutching his stomach and pointing at me. TenTen smirked. "Did Sakura punch him…?"

"No!" I said quickly.

"YES!" Naruto shouted as he collapsed next to Sasuke, who chuckled and rubbed his back.

Neji nodded, smirking. "He tried to sneak up on her, and-"

"Let me guess, her _natural reaction_." Hinata said for him. Neji nodded, and she and TenTen looked at me, then both started giggling.

"Oh shut up!" I snapped at them. "At least no one else was out here to see it…it's so embarrassing…" I held up a hand in front of my face and clenched a fist one, sighing sadly.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow as he left Naruto to lean against the car and kneeled in front of me, helping me with all of my books. '_How considerate…_' I thought happily.

"Embarrassing?" he asked as he took some into his arms. "I'd be proud to have strength like yours. I'd be the best gang leader in Konoha, probably."

"Well you're not a girl with pink hair." I muttered. "I'm not expected to have strength. People probably think I'm fat or way a ton."

"But you don't, do you?" he asked, standing. I stood too and held out my arms, and he dumped the books there gently as I shook my head. He smirked. "Then what's the problem?"

I froze as he turned his back on me. "Temari, you're driving! Naruto and Ino, you're in the trunk, Neji, you're on the ground with me, you three can sit in the back. Move your asses, I wanna go home!"

**H**i**n**a**t**a

"Alright, we're home!" Temari said in relief. She had driven us back to the house, after a car ride full of arguments. "Hinata, can you make us chocolate cake today?"

I smiled. "I'll make it _after_ everyone finishes their dinner."

"Which is?" Sakura asked curiously. "It should be healthy, we've been having a lot of greasy foods lately."

"Come on!" TenTen cried.

I shook my head. "TenTen, she's right. She's the health expert, anyways. She knows what she's talking about, and she should know what our diets should be. So Sakura, chicken stir fry?"

"Mhm, that's perfect." Sakura said, smiling and nodding.

"What's a chicken stir fry?" Naruto asked, looking confused, as we all got out of the car, grabbing our school bags.

"It's stir fry with chicken, what does it sound like?" TenTen asked.

Sakura laughed. "Yeah, what she said. Well, it's basically a bunch of vegetables cooked together in a pan with a sauce and bits of chicken in it."

"…Eww, vegetables?" Ino asked, wrinkling her nose.

"Sick." Sasuke said, looking disgusted. "Are you talking about, like, cooking broccoli and beans?"

"That sounds nasty." Neji muttered. "I'm not eating it."

"Hey, shut up! If Hinata's cooking it you have to!" TenTen snapped. "Besides, it's really good!"

By now we were all going inside the house, and TenTen immediately ran over and plopped down on the sofa, grinning. Sakura smirked and sat down next to TenTen on the sofa. "But that's alright, if you don't want to eat it. More chocolate cake for us!"

"What are you saying?" Sasuke asked suspiciously as he and Neji sat down in their arm chairs and Naruto sat on the arm of Sasuke's.

"If you don't eat your dinner you don't get desert." Sakura said simply. TenTen and I both nodded, understanding what she was getting at. It was a rule, in our little 'family' type unit.

"Aww, no fair!" Ino cried, sitting on the other sofa next to Temari and Shikamaru. "Fine, then, I'll eat it!" She crossed her arms and pouted.

The other muttered about how they'd try it, and I giggled. "Well, I might as well start on it."

"And I'll get TenTen started on her homework. Come on, Tennie, let me see it."

"…"

**T**e**n**T**e**n

"Well…?" I asked impatiently.

"Do you like it…?" Sakura asked, grinning.

"How is it…?" Hinata asked shyly, fidgeting with her fingers in front of her.

The others had all taken cautious bites of their first stir fry, and were chewing it slowly and curiously. Naruto and Ino were the first ones to break the silence.

"Yummy!" Ino cried, eating more of hers.

"This is really good!" Naruto agreed eagerly, digging into his sloppily.

Shikamaru and Temari shared a look, then shrugged and ate more of theirs lazily. They hadn't really resisted against it in the first place though. So we looked at Sasuke and Neji. Neji raised an eyebrow. "It's…okay…" he muttered, eating more.

Sasuke shrugged it off. "Yeah, whatever." He ate more of his.

"Yes!" I grinned. "That means it's a success! More vegetables tomorrow, guys!"

"Yay!" Ino cheered happily.

**x**x**x**x**x**

When everyone had finally finished off the chocolate cake that Hinata had made for desert, we all sat at the table, talking amongst ourselves. I had a time to glance at Sakura and Hinata curiously, and it filled my heart with joy when I saw the smiles on their faces and how their eyes shined. It made me think…did I look like that too?

But my thoughts were broken when Ino said something that made me grin; "Want to sleep over?"

I glanced once at Sakura. She looked like she was thinking things over, then glanced once at Sasuke, who was, of course, the head of the house. Ino seemed to notice this, for she laughed. "Don't worry about Sasuke. Just cause he's like the daddy doesn't mean we can't disobey him!"

"What the fuck? Don't call me that!" Sasuke snapped. "And shut your mouth, Hyuuga!" Neji was snickering behind his hand.

"Hey, we can always call Neji uncle." Temari said, smirking.

Now it was Sasuke's turn to start laughing as Neji rolled his eyes. "Well I have no problem with it." Sasuke said when he'd finished laughing. "We're all going somewhere tomorrow anyways."

"Oh, really? Where?" Temari asked. She noticed my confused look and leaned forward across the table at me. "We always do something fun on the weekends when we have nothing else to do." She explained. Then she turned to Sasuke. "So?"

"Eh, Naruto should know these things. Dobe?"

"Um…!" He narrowed his eyes in concentration. "The mall, the movies, bowling, the beach, hiking in the mountains, going clubbing, challenging some other team, raiding a convenience store, or just going to the park."

Ino grinned. "And I get to pick this time, right?! It's my turn!"

"Eh? I thought it was Neji's." Temari said.

"Oh, that's right. Aww…Go ahead, pick Neji-kun." Ino said, pouting in disappointment.

He sighed. "I don't care…" he drawled out.

"Bor-ing!" Ino sang. "I'll pick, okay? I'll take your turn!" Neji just rolled his eyes and nodded, and she beamed. "Okay! Let's see…I don't feel like raiding a convenience store or challenging another team, and I went to mall with Temari last weekend, then the movies, then clubbing…So let's say we'll do the other three! Bowling, the beach, hiking, going to the park! All three!"

Sakura laughed a bit. "But doesn't hiking in the mountains and going to the park sound a little boring for people in a gang? Shouldn't you be doing something more exciting?"

Suddenly everyone in the room got smirks on their faces. "You'll see…" Temari said slyly.

"Is there a reason you're all looking a little, well…suspicious…?" Hinata asked, giggling.

**x**x**x**x**x**

We had been talking only for a little while in the living room, when all of us paused at a sharp ringing noise that emitted from my backpack. I raised an eyebrow. "Sakura…did you put a bomb in my backpack?"

She looked, suddenly, very nervous. "N-No, it's, um…your cell phone…"

"So you did do something to it!"

"No, stupid! Tsunade-sama's calling!" she snapped, then her eyes grew wide in horror and she slapped her hands over her mouth. "I mean…!" she squeaked.

Me and Hinata's mouths fell open. "No…" Hinata gasped.

"You didn't…" I said slowly, dangerously.

Sakura moaned and covered her eyes with her hands. "Fine! I did, okay?! I called her last night on your cell phone but she wouldn't answer, so I guess she's calling back!"

"…You answer." I said, taking my phone out my bag and holding it out to her as it rang shrill sounds through the room and everyone watched us.

"No! You, please!" Sakura pleaded.

"It's _your_ mom!"

"Well you can deal with her better than I can! Please, TenTen?! I'll do your homework!"

I paused. "All one hundred problems, correctly?"

"Yes! It'll be easy!"

"What's the big deal?" Naruto asked.

"You'll see." Hinata said quietly.

I turned to Sakura. "…Okay. But just this once…and I'm putting it on speaker…" I said, and I took the phone and slowly, cautiously, opened it. "…Tsunade-sama…?" I asked carefully.

"_TENTEN! IS THAT YOU?!_"

Everyone in the room covered their ears with their hands at the volume of her booming voice, and I winced. "Y-Yes, Tsunade-sama!" I said.

"_WHERE'S MY DAUGHTER?! HAVE YOU BEEN KICKING THE ASS OF ANYONE THAT TRIED TO TOUCH HER?!_"

"I would, Tsunade-sama, but fortunately no one's tried yet." I said, grinning a little.

"_PERFECT! HOW'S THAT SWEET LITTLE HINATA-CHAN DOING, HUH?! ARE YOU GIRLS TAKING CARE OF HER?!_"

"Right here, Tsunade-sama." Hinata said, giggling. "And they're taking care of me…more like I am them." Sakura and I laughed a bit.

"_AH, HINATA-CHAN! IT'S SO NICE TO HEAR YOUR SWEET LITTLE VOICE AGAIN! IT'S LIKE THE LIGHT'S GONE OUT OF KIRI WITHOUT YOU AROUND. AND TENTEN, PEOPLE HAVE ACTUALLY COME UP TO ME AND COMPLAINED THAT THIS TOWN'S NO FUN ANYMORE WITHOUT YOU, TOO! IT'S AWFUL! AND IT'S SO LONELY WITHOUT YOU TWO COMING OVER ALL THE TIME! OH, BUT WE'LL MANAGE. NOW WHERE'S THAT DAUGHTER OF MINE?!_"

"Right here, mum!" Sakura said, smiling at the phone and waving a bit, laughing at herself.

"_SAKURA! ALL THE BOYS ARE QUITE UPSET, THEY KEEP ON ASKING ME WHAT YOUR NEW ADRESS IS! I DON'T TELL THEM OF COURSE, BUT ONLY BECAUSE I'M AFRAID YOU'LL BE CHARGED WITH MURDER. HOW ARE YOUR GRADES?!_"

Sakura laughed. "Fine. I've been placed in advanced placement classes…again…"

"_OF COURSE YOU HAVE, SAKURA! YOU'RE BRILLIANT!_" Tsunade cried, making her blush a bit. "_NOW MY CELL PHONE'S BATTERY IS RUNNING LOW! I HAVE TO GO! TENTEN, YOU'D BETTER IMPROVE YOUR GRADES, OR YOU OWE ANKO FIVE HUNDRED PUSH UPS AND ME TWO HUNDRED CRUNCHES! UNDERSTAND?!_"

I gulped and saluted the phone. "Y-Yeah, Tsunade-sama!"

"Bye mom!" Sakura called.

"Bye Tsunade-sama." Hinata said sweetly.

"_YEAH, YEAH, BYE!_"

I smiled and hung up the phone, stuffing it back into my backpack. When I straightened up again I noticed everyone staring at us like we had been handling a gigantic deadly spider. We sort of were, if you take off the spider part.

Sakura laughed a bit. "Yup, that's mom. She's almost like a mom to TenTen and Hinata too, since they always came over. She was good friends with our counselor, Anko, and the two would always push us really hard."

"I like her." Ino said simply, smiling as the others kept staring at us oddly. "She reminds me of you, Sakura, when you're really mad, and she talks kinda like you, TenTen, when you're really excited, and she really cares about you guys, like you, Hinata-chan!"

"…TenTen, does she really make you do pushups and crunches…?" Naruto asked slowly.

I laughed. "No, but she and Anko can sure make convincing threats!"

Ino giggled. "Well that's enough of the weirdness for today! For now let's have fun, but tomorrow, we're going to the park!"

"I still don't see how it's so exciting." Sakura said, rolling her eyes.

"You'll see!"

I sighed. ''_You'll see'…That seems to be said a lot around here…Maybe it's a gang thing…_'

**x**x**x**x**x**

"O-Okay! I need to stop, I-I can barely breath!" I gasped between pants as I dodged another of Neji's hits and ran out of the way, dropping to the ground on my knees, which buckled beneath me and slid to the sides, my hands on the ground between them, my chest heaving.

I had volunteered to train with Neji as the others were talking and arguing in the living room and had eventually started betting over Sasuke and Naruto, wrestling on the ground. He had, to my surprise, gladly accepted my proposal.

Neji was breathing heavily, too, but he wasn't in such a bad condition. He bent over, hands on his knees so he could breath better, and looked down at me as I groaned and rubbed my arms. "What's wrong? Broke something?" he asked smugly.

I glared at him. "No, but you were unnecessarily violent." I pulled up the sleeve of my uniform's sweater and gazed at the purple and blue splotches scattered up and down. "Nn…That's why my arms hurt."

He sighed. "That's from me, for sure. I didn't use my gentle fist, but I hit you where I would. I'm not a very good demonstrator while fighting, I tend to make it a bit too realistic."

"If that's your way of saying sorry then you're forgiven."

"I don't apologize." Neji said simply, but he walked forward to me suddenly, stopped, and held out a hand downwards. There was a small smirk on his face. "However, I do help."

I stared at his hand, then smiled and reached out to it. But suddenly, my mind spun, and words flashed through my brain, words that were spoken a long time ago, but words, of among many, that I still remembered, a little _too_ well…

"_Do you see? There she is, TenTen. Her parents died because of her, did you hear? Disgusting child, she didn't repent a thing. She doesn't deserve our company. Leave her alone…"_

I retracted my arm and jumped to my feet in a flash, narrowing my eyes. "I don't need your help." I muttered, looking at the ground and rubbing my burning arms.

He raised an eyebrow. "What's your problem?"

I realized after a while the type of attitude I'd just been showing, and I quickly switched back to normal. "Nothing! Let's go inside! They're probably finished with Sasuke and Naruto anyways." Neji shrugged off my mood change but watched me closely as we walked back.

I had recently discovered that Sasuke, Neji, and Naruto, who were particularly close, just like Shikamaru, Ino, and Temari, who were childhood friends (and boyfriend and girlfriend in the case of Shikamaru and Temari), had a sort of unique relationship. They were always competing with each other about _everything_. Sasuke and Naruto would always try to be better than the other at anything possible, like eating, fighting, talking loudly, running, doing homework, and more. They would usually tie. Neji and Sasuke would always try to insult the other worse, and Neji usually won, with grimacing results. And Naruto and Neji? Well, Naruto always tried to challenge Neji, but Neji just ignored him, and bonked him on the head calmly when Naruto got too carried away, which ended abruptly in Neji winning. Neji was a winner, for sure, but he didn't gloat about it, he just rolled his eyes like the whole thing was stupid, which pretty much made me laugh.

Neji was a strong person, I realized, and someone I should definitely respect. Like when I met Temari for the first time, I knew where my place was, and that was lower than her. Lower than Neji. It wasn't something to complain about. It was just natural, and I knew Neji felt the same and respected that about me. Just the simple rules of life.

But for some reason, I just couldn't help but feel a strange sort of connection with Neji that I didn't understand, really.

"Oh, TenTen, Neji, you're back! Hinata made us some popcorn, want some?" Sakura asked, breaking me out of my thoughts. I glanced sideways and noticed something that made me uneasy in a way; Neji had walked by my side all the way in. Now he shrugged and walked over to his arm chair, taking a small handful of popcorn from the bowl on the coffee table as he went, then sat and started a conversation with Shikamaru.

I walked over next to Sakura, who smiled at me, looking at me closely. "What's wrong?" she asked kindly, immediately noticing something wrong about me.

I sighed as Hinata edged a bit closer, also noticing. "Nothing…" Then I snapped back to normal and grinned at them. "So, who won, Sasuke or Naruto?"

**X**X**X**X**X**

Ok, I have some other pieces of news I would like to share with you: first off, people have been asking, "when's **shikaxino** gonna happen?" and I'm like, "wtf, what do you mean shikaino? eww, not in MY story!" yeah, that's right, there is going to be NO shikaino in this story. what IS there going to be? why, InoxSai of course! :D You'll see, it's gonna be fun. :3  
another thing, and this is really really IMPORTANT!! (I'm putting this in caps) I'M GOING TO A FINE ARTS CAMP THIS **WEDNSDAY** FOR **TWO WEEKS**, SO I WILL BE **GONE** FOR A WHILE! PLEASE STAY PATIENT FOR **TWO WEEKS**! THIS IS PROBABLY MY **LAST POST OF THE WEEK**, SO BE WARNED: **NO UPDATES FOR TWO WEEKS**! I love you all, send me some love to come home to via pm? :)  
and one more thing!! on my profile under this story's section, I put up three inspirational, Japanese music videos for tenten, sakura and Hinata that gave me ideas for the story (will be explained later in this story). check em out (the singers even look somewhat like the characters except in sakura's case -gasp!-). it can tide you over for the lack of updates for two weeks. ;D  
Re-Read & Edited while listening to: _No Reason_ by _Sum 41_ :D  
Like it? Love it? Hate it? Dislike it? Don't care about it? Review it! ;)  
Shoot for the stars: 270 to come home to, please? :)  
SEE YOU ALL IN **TWO WEEKS**! x)  
thanks for reading!  
xmarachanx


	9. More

Hey guys!  
Guess who's back, back, back, back again, gain, gain…  
lol, nice to see you all again! I came back on Sunday, but I was having a bit of troubles;  
**one:** I deleted The Fruit Basket. reasons? well, let me tell you a story. I learned that, when you leave a story for a while and then go back to it, you'll see how good it really is. well, I left for two weeks then came back to it, and I saw how good it really _isn't_. it's _crap_. sorry all who loved it, but I just desperately could _not_ finish it. there was only one chapter to go anyways, and that chapter was basically going to be Ami ditching Karin and going out with Lee, and them scaring Karin out of The Fruit Basket and then they're deciding to get rid of The Fruit Basket because, in their words, they didn't need to keep their secrets with just themselves anymore, since they had people to love and yadayadayada. oh, and of course they become friends with Ami and Ino. :P corny, right? right. I hate it. so it's gone. please don't come complaining to me about it. :)  
**two:** …emails galore…I had to respond to _so many_. Dx oh well, I'll live, I liked them anyways, they all made me smile. :)  
**three:** MAJOR WRITERS BLOCK! I could not think of anything for these flippin stories! -dies- but, well, now I have. and I'm back. but my updates will probably be a little slower…so here we go, **thanks a lot to:**  
XxkIkIrOxX, 0o0InoChan0o0, Sunny Soul, Merciless Ruby, writingxonxwalls, Jackie, Tilders, Kyra-Mitsu, SMOKe-13, XxLakotaxX, mintxrain, .xXx.hikari.midnight.xXx., Nerd4eva, x.sly.x.kunoichi.x, Kick -Assing -Kunoichi, AppleMistress, Uchiha Sayaka, HisEyesMyName-AmBeR159, WahineDancer, Pnkrockninja101, anthropomorphichybrid, Akemi Akira, ShinobiXAngel, TheBeastlyKunoichi, EmiKoizumi.x, Shenhui, SparkyCasper, Uchiha, Nami, Hikoru, Aniki, kimiko77, Daisy Valentine, Yuki The DayDreamer, Hoshi-Naito, RedMapleLeaf, PandaKingzEatPorkBunz, Strawberry Lulz, lollipop-chan, totalnarutofangirl85, kkbug33, Shikyo no Amatsu Shinsei, Nightshadow Dweller, siny, MidnightCurse4Eternity, Chigiri Sasaki, SionLeonheart, Dreaming101, mangamaniacgurl  
sorry, I couldn't respond to all of you, but I really appreciate all of your reviews, and I read each of them, thanks a lot! :D  
Enjoy!

**X**X**X**X**X**

**H**e**a**r **N**o **E**v**i**l  
_See no evil. Speak no evil._

**D**i**s**c**l**a**i**m**e**r: Oh emm eff gee, I don't own Naruto. :)  
**S**o**n**g: _She's a Rebel_ by _Greenday_ :)

**C**h. **N**i**n**e - More

_From Chicago to Toronto  
She's the one that they  
Call old whatsername_

**x**x**x**x**x**

A dark figure, clouded and hidden in the shadows, slunk across a dark street in Konoha City, unnoticed by the houses that were all void of light, except for one. There was one house in which there was one light on, in the second story, and very dim and warm, probably by a bedside lamp. This house was, apparently and coincidentally, the one that this figure had targeted. The figure made its way over, flitting across the front yard, still just a shadow in the night to the naked eye.

But it was soon darting into the front door of the house as quickly and silently as if it _was_ only a shadow, closing the door behind itself with a very undistinguished click. It slunk through the pitch black living room and pulled out a flashlight, lighting itself up to reveal a young man with spiky black hair and black sunglasses on, wearing a dark sweatshirt with the hood up and the sleeves rolled to his elbows, showing his muscular arms. On his left arm, there was, tattooed there in red and black, a spiky 'S'.

The boy crossed the living room silently like a ghost or pad-footed cat towards the carpeted staircase that ascended into darkness. He covered his flashlight with his hand, removed a gun from his pocket, and began his quick climb up them into a short hall. The light was coming from a bedroom in the hall, flooding across the floor, where the sound of a crinkled, turning page of a book could be heard, and the boy in the sweatshirt carefully avoided that door and instead went for another one; the bathroom.

He searched first the shower, and unable to find anything he searched everywhere else he could look for. At last he looked under the sink, shining his flashlight around the cabinet silently, and feeling around with his hands. When he got to the back wall of the cabinet a smirk slowly spread itself onto his pale complexion. His rough hands could feel a crack in the wall.

He dug his fingernails into the crack and pried gently, cracking open a secret compartment in the cabinet, and then opened it more and reached inside. A few spiders scuttled out of the way and he shook them off his arm before extending his arm deeper into the cabinet. At last his fingers grasped what he had been looking for; a bottle, one among many, but the only amount he would need.

He pulled it out, then closed the compartment carefully behind him, and closed the cabinet beneath the sink behind himself as well just to be certain. Finally, he shined the flashlight on the bottle and grinned, toothily, manically, smugly and slyly, when the word, "Sake" was lit in the golden orb.

With that, he traced his steps back out of the house just as silently as he came in, crossed the street, and crouched behind a garbage can, taking out a cell phone with one hand while holding the bottle of sake with the other hand. He dialed a number quickly and held it up to his ear and listened to the tone until someone answered.

"Shino?"

"Sai." the boy replied in a monotone. "It's a success."

**T**e**n**T**e**n

"_Sakura_…"

"…Oh…" Sakura looked at me apologetically, but for once she wasn't laughing sheepishly, and Hinata wasn't looking exasperated, and I wasn't seething. This was serious…

We were all in the living room of the house. Sakura, Hinata and I were sitting on one sofa, me in between them. Shikamaru lay on his back on the other sofa, sleeping, Ino sitting on his stomach and his head in Temari's lap, her hands playing with his hair and tracing his face. Sasuke and Neji sat in their armchairs, and Naruto sat on the arm of Sasuke's, his feet resting on the arm of Neji's, chatting rapidly and telling stories about times when he was an orphan. For some reason, that got Sakura into the subject of me, saying "Yeah, TenTen's an orphan too, she knows how that is. But she knew her parents, so it's worse, because it was her fau-"

That's when I interrupted her. I couldn't believe she was about to tell my secret. Now she just sat there with a small sad smile on her face, and it infuriated me. How could she do that, for the second time in a row?! She didn't do this at home! Did she really trust them that much?! Did she think that _I_ did?! She couldn't really think that. It was obvious that I was just acting normal around them…it…it wasn't like I was actually comfortable with them yet…Comfortable with _anyone_ besides a few people…

"TenTen…" Sakura said quietly. "You can't keep quiet forever…I think-"

"Oh shut up." I said loudly, standing quickly and walking out.

"Whoa, hold it, where are you going?" Temari asked curiously.

"Ten-chan, what's wrong?" Ino called.

"Nothing, just leave me alone…" I muttered as I walked out of the room. I walked through the hall and out the back door, breaking into a run as I started to leave, then finally getting outside. The screen door slammed shut behind me as I ran as fast as I could and halted in front of one of the trees in the yard, placing a hand on it and breathing heavily. I stared at the ground.

'_I can't believe her…_' I thought angrily. '_Doesn't she know…the anniversary is next Wednesday…she shouldn't even be mentioning it to me…_'

I shook my head hard. '_No, no…I shouldn't be thinking about it, I've got to clear my head…_' I looked up at the tree and smiled, then hopped onto the fence, swung myself onto the strong branch, and crawled along the length of it to the trunk of the tree, where I leaned and sat, one of my legs swinging off the branch and the other bent to the side, my arms wrapped around my waist comfortably, my head resting on the rough bark. And I closed my eyes...

**H**i**n**a**t**a

"It's only fair for her to be mad at me, in a way, I guess…" Sakura said quietly, looking at her hands in her lap. Ino and Temari had just questioned TenTen's sudden change in attitude. Shikamaru had woken up from all the noise and now just lay in the same position, watching me and Sakura. Sasuke, Neji, and Naruto were staring at her, interested, waiting for a story.

I looked up at Sakura. "Was it a mistake, Sakura-chan? Or did you say it on purpose?"

She smiled grimly. "You know me too well, Hinata…" she said, sighing. "Yes, I said that on purpose. I think…it's time that she stop hiding it. She's _too_ modest, it's not healthy for her to keep it all bottled up inside."

"Keep what bottled up inside?" Naruto asked.

Sakura looked up and lost her smile. "Her true feelings…"

"Yeah, about _what_?" Sasuke asked impatiently. "Stop beating around the bush."

"The real reason her parents died." I said for Sakura, my voice raising a bit. Everyone was quiet.

"…What…was that reason…?" Temari asked slowly.

Sakura and I shared a glance. "Her…" we said at the same time.

**T**e**n**T**e**n

"_TenTen, you're late to class again! What has gotten into you?!"_

_I laughed guiltily. "Sorry Rosa-sensei…! Momma and Papa woke up late again!"_

"_Don't blame your parents on this mess! Go sit down at your spot!" I obeyed quickly. Rosa-sensei went back to her desk at the front of the classroom and picked up a stack of papers, going through them. "These are the results of yesterday's spelling quiz children, and I must say, I am very, very disappointed. I expect much better of you next time, understand?" We all nodded numbly, and she started passing them back. I stared in shame down at my own quiz, a D scrawled in bright red across the top._

_Suddenly Rosa-sensei stopped in front of a girl named Shay's desk and glared down at her. "Shay! Stand!"_

_Shay stood slowly, quivering a bit. "Hai, Rosa-sensei?"_

_Rosa-sensei did not acknowledge her. "Class! With this student, I am particularly disappointed! Would you like to guess which word she spelled wrong?!" No one said a word, but Rosa-sensei spoke anyways. "DOCTOR!" she roared, making Shay wince. "She spelled doctor with a K! Class, what is doctor actually spelled with?!"_

"…_C…" the class murmured quietly._

"_That's right SHAY! You silly, stupid, naïve child! How could you have spelled such a simple word incorrectly after I explained it to you so many times?! You are the most worthless failure in this class! I expect you to improve from now on, understand?!"_

"_H-Hai, Rosa-sensei." Shay stuttered, tears coming to her eyes._

"_GOOD!"_

"_Hey!" I suddenly yelled, standing quickly._

**S**a**k**u**r**a

"TenTen loved her parents." I said softly. "I don't know why, because they didn't love her, and they didn't mind reminding her that…they hit her and hurt her…they called her all sorts of names and left her at home alone all the time. She was always lonely…I remember watching her before I really knew her, before I was really her friend, and wondering why, even though she was smiling, she looked so sad…"

"Smiling? With parents like that…?" Ino asked quietly.

I smiled a bit myself. "Yeah. TenTen was always really outgoing, even at a young age. She would always stand up for what she believed in…she was a leader…" I laughed a bit. "She even talked back to her teachers and to her friends and family when they said something that insulted her or someone she cared about, or just something she believed in…It wasn't a really good thing, but it wasn't a really bad thing…However, either way, one day it turned wrong."

**T**e**n**T**e**n

"_What was that, TenTen?"_

_I glared at Rosa-sensei. "You have no right to yell at her for that! It was just one letter! You're the stupid one if you're getting mad over that!"_

_Rosa-sensei glared at me. "TenTen…Go down to the principals office."_

"…_Nani…Why?!"_

"_GO! NOW!"_

"_Fine, I'm going!"_

**H**i**n**a**t**a

"How'd it go wrong…?" Sasuke asked.

Sakura sighed. "One day when she was six her teacher yelled at a girl in her class. The girl had misspelled a word and the teacher was calling her stupid and a failure, and TenTen didn't like that, probably because of what her parents said to her all the time... So she stood up and yelled at the teacher that the teacher was the stupid one, and she got called down to the principal's office. Her parents had to come and pick her up. While they were driving home, her parents were so mad that they got drunk, and…well…" Sakura swallowed hard.

**T**e**n**T**e**n

"_You idiotic little bitch!" mom slurred as dad drove furiously down the road, swerving around cars. "How could you talk to yerr teacher like that?! You're-hic-awful!"_

"_She was being mean for no reason." I said quietly, defensively._

"_Shuddup!" dad shouted. "You're such a fuckin' idiot, ShenShen!"_

"_It's YenYen, Shang…" mom corrected him with another hiccup._

"_It's TenTen!" I cried._

"_Shuddup! Since when did you name yerself?! Ya' brat, yerr ungrateful, rotten…!" dad roared. "We spend all our money on you! I can berly buy mah beer's now, ya know?! I can berly buy mah cigars and smokes! An'…An'-hic-an'…an' you think you can sass back to yerr teacher AND yerr parents! BITCH! BITCH!"_

"_DADDY, WATCH OUT!"_

_The last thing I could see was a blinding white light. The last thing I could hear was a piercing screech and crash. The last thing I could feel was pain in my right shoulder. Then everything went black._

**H**i**n**a**t**a

"What happened…?" Ino whispered.

I decided to finish for Sakura, as it seemed she didn't want to describe more of it... "They found the car upside down in a ditch. The only survivor was TenTen in the backseat, with only a large but minor cut on her shoulder…"

Everyone was silent, and Sakura continued. "She was taken to the hospital and then placed into the orphanage, as the rest of her family didn't want her. They didn't want to spend the money on her and didn't want to take care of the child who had distracted her parents from driving, causing them to loose their lives…so she lost her last name and became an orphan. I don't think she remembers her last name herself…"

"She spent the first few days after her parents died in a sort of numb state…" I said quietly. "She didn't talk at all, even at the funeral. Well, she didn't even cry at the funeral and didn't say a thing to her parents' graves as she kneeled there and prayed. It was only because she was so paralyzed. Think about the situation and her age…if you were her, you would have felt and acted the same…But people took that as selfishness and said she was ungrateful and not sorry…and they blamed it on her…Everyone that saw her at the funeral talked horribly about her…everyone at school stayed away from her…they hated her for the wrong reason…"

**T**e**n**T**e**n

_A woman walked past with her young child by her side. She was there to see her ancestors. She spotted me praying silently without a tear to my parents, and gave a click of her tongue in distaste, speaking to her child and not bothering to keep her voice down._

"_Do you see? There she is, TenTen. Her parents died because of her, did you hear? Disgusting child, she didn't repent a thing. She doesn't deserve our company. Leave her alone…"_

**S**a**k**u**r**a

"Most people would grow older bitterly, I suppose." Hinata said softly. "But TenTen was strong. Once she met us, the first friends she'd ever had, she started to smile again, and soon enough…well, here she is now…" Hinata laughed.

"But she's still sensitive about the subject…" I added in a murmur. "She still misses her parents, feels like it's all her fault…blames herself. She really carries a lot on her shoulders…" I felt my eyes start to water just a bit, but luckily it wasn't enough to show. "I don't think I would be able to bear it." I whispered, my voice shaky. "I always wonder; how would _I_ be now if that happened to me…? Would I be able to smile like that and make other people smile while I'm at it…? And she's helped us both so much, through everything. I always wonder how she does it. It's almost impossible, right?"

Hinata nodded. "It is. But TenTen just proves that we all have it in us, I guess…"

"Can I ask one question…?" Neji asked quietly, suddenly. Hinata and I looked at him expectantly. "Why are you telling us…?"

I smiled. "I don't really know…"

"It's because TenTen deserves it…" Hinata said suddenly. Everyone looked at her curiously, when she said 'it'. She sighed. "_For once_, TenTen has the chance to get it…" None of us said anything. We still didn't understand.

"Get what…?" Temari asked.

Hinata smiled gently. "Sympathy. Someone to feel bad for _her_…"

**T**e**n**T**e**n

_More…More…Blame me more…_

_I just wanted them to hurt me, scream at me, hate me…_

_I deserved it…_

_It was my fault…_

_More…_

"…_More…" I whispered into the rain that engulfed me. It was midnight, and I was still there. I would not leave till late the next day, when I finally collapsed to the ground after three nights of no sleep, and one day of not eating…_

_For a while, all I could even say and think was one word…;_

_More…_

"More…"

"TenTen…"

My eyes opened quickly with a start. I had been talking in my sleep? My face was wet. Was it raining? No…I put a hand up tentatively to touch my cheek. This water came from my eyes. Tears. I was crying, and hard too…And I still was…I was still in the same position on the tree. But it was different. Someone was there next to me…

'_Mom…dad…_'

I slumped against the tree and sobbed, unable to keep it in any longer, my throat tightening and widening, my heart aching with sorrow and guilt and anger. '_It was all my fault…I'm so stupid…I'm so stupid…!_'

"TenTen…"

There was that person again, putting a hand on my shoulder and speaking in a low voice that sounded so soft and gentle, like velvet or satin. I wasn't used to voices like that, growing up with screams and yells and shouts of hatred. I wasn't used to voices with pity in them…

I calmed my tears quickly and searched for the familiarity in that voice that still resonated in my ears, that firm hand on my shoulder. "Neji…?" I asked curiously, my voice still shaky from the sobs.

"Hai."

I said nothing for a while as my breathing slowed and I calmed myself. "I said to leave me alone."

"I know."

"Then why didn't you?"

"I've said many things myself and you have not done them." Neji said simply.

"That doesn't mean-"

"Do you really want to be alone?" he interrupted me suddenly.

I closed my mouth tightly. I was thoroughly calmed by now, and I sighed slowly, sitting up a bit straighter, still staring at the bark of the tree. I swung my other leg over the side of the branch and sat simply with my hands in my lap, staring off the branch at the ground, still feeling Neji's hand on my shoulder. A breeze slowly drifted through the tree's leaves, rustling them, and moving my hair and clothes, caressing my skin comfortably, calming me, gentling me. I turned to Neji at last, looking straight at him for the first time.

Still the same young man, his face drawn emotionlessly with only a hint of concern in his eyes, but concern there was, so he was different in some way…Different…

"…No…" I whispered, staring at him.

He nodded slowly. "I thought so…"

**S**a**k**u**r**a

"I wonder what Neji's doing…" Ino said as we stared down the hall where Neji had suddenly stood and walked briskly out of the room.

"Probably going to sleep." Temari said, snorting. "Heartless bastard, he can be."

"I wouldn't be so sure…" Shikamaru said quietly from Temari's lap, playing with her fingers on his face and kissing them lightly.

She looked down at him and shrugged. "Whatever you say..."

"What _else_ can he be doing then?" Ino asked.

Sasuke sighed. "Who knows…" he muttered. He leaned back and stretched a bit. "Well, now we know TenTen's deal. But trust us, Sakura, Hinata…" We both looked up at him as he finished stretching and looked back at us. "Don't expect us to be too surprised or even pity you. You forget that we're a gang. We're way, way used to that kind of stuff."

I winced at the harshness in his voice. '_Of course…I shouldn't expect pity out of him_…'

**T**e**n**T**e**n

"So what about you?" I asked quietly. Neji and I sat side by side on the tree branch, our legs over the side, just looking down at the ground. His hand was off my shoulder now; he obviously wasn't exactly used to physical contact. But I was comforted, and I was back to normal. And I was curious…

"What about me?" he asked rudely. I almost laughed. After a voice so soft and filled with concern, I almost forgot he was a murderer, and only cared of me as a sparring partner. Well, that's the only way I cared about him, right? It was only fair.

"What about your life? You had a hard one too, right?" I asked, shrugging.

"I suppose."

"Then tell me about it."

"Why should I?"

"Because it's obvious that Sakura and Hinata told everyone about me." I muttered. "And about my parents and about…everything. So I guess it's everyone else's turn. And you can tell me, starting with your story."

"My story?"

"Yes! Tell me about your life, c'mon!" I insisted, swinging my legs in the comforting breeze. My school uniform skirt, still on from the day and intending to stay, flowed around my thighs, not revealing anything fortunately.

Neji laughed a bit. "You're back to normal, huh?" I shrugged. He sighed. "Alright, then, I guess there's no use in hiding everything from you…" Neji looked up at the waxy layering of leaves above our heads. "I assume since you're so close to Hinata-sama that you know a lot about the isolation of the Hyuuga clan." I nodded slowly. "I suffered as much as Hinata under them, and…even more. Let me tell you, Hinata-sama did have to experience a lot of isolation and pressure, but she never experienced death, did she…?"

"…Death…?"

"My father." Neji said quietly. "I'm sure you know by now what happened. When Hinata-sama was kidnapped, the kidnappers asked for my uncle, Hinata's father, Hiashi…they asked for his life as a ransom." He sighed slowly. "I was only a child, I couldn't understand a lot of it…But they took my father, his brother, away and killed him in front of my eyes…"

"…Why…?" I whispered.

"Because he was the substitute for Hiashi. He was identical to him, yet…he did not belong to the main branch of the family, so…he was useless…as am I…"

'_Useless…_' That word seemed to spark something inside of me, but I could say nothing yet, as he continued.

"I loved my father. It's hard for myself to believe, really, that I loved _anyone_, _ever_. But I did. He raised me by himself, and I was…happy. I…I guess I would have gone into the same class as you, now that I think about it." I blinked in surprise. That was true. If he hadn't run away from Kiri, he would have been in the same class as me! How would my relationship be with him, if that had happened…? "But soon enough, he was gone..." Neji continued. "I ran away after a while. I was unable to take living in that condition any longer while holding the burden of my father over my head. I traveled across Japan all the way here…and I ran into…Naruto and Sasuke…"

I smiled a bit. '_I think I know what's coming…_'

Neji smiled too, up at the leafy canopy, at the darkening sky. The first stars were coming out, trying in vain to outshine the still slightly bright sky, the sun by now lowering more and more. "I fought with them. Each of them. I really hated them at first, I thought they were idiots. We had started out just insulting each other when we bumped into each other, then it was a full out fist fight, and…well, I guess, even if it pissed me out at the time…I changed after what they said to me, after they started taking care of me…I wasn't as bitter as I used to be…"

"Heh. You still seem bitter to me." I said, giggling as he glowered a bit. "But hey, what about Shikamaru, Ino, and Temari? I know nothing about them!"

Neji shrugged. "Well…Shikamaru's father knows about the gang and everything, but he doesn't really mind. He and his dad are actually pretty close, and his dad was the one that pushed Shikamaru the hardest into asking Temari out. Temari was new to Konoha, she moved here with her brothers from Suna to escape her drunken parents. She instantly became friends with Ino, who was childhood friends with Shikamaru because their fathers were very close. All three of them lost their mothers, and all three of them instantly bonded. But that's about all I can tell you. Temari's pretty tough from living with parents like that and is always taken care of by her brothers, even if she doesn't see too much of them any more as they're both busy with their own gangs. Ino and Shikamaru barely see their fathers but try to keep in contact as much as they can…"

"They all lost their mothers?" I asked. "Wow, no wonder they're so close…But it's like you, Sasuke, and Naruto! You're all orphans, so you're really close too. If I didn't know better I'd say you were family."

"Well, same goes for you, Sakura and Hinata." Neji said.

"I guess." I sighed slowly. "Well I'm going back inside to punish Sakura and Hinata for blurting out my secrets."

"How?"

I grinned. "Dunno!" With that I swung myself off the branch and landed gracefully on the ground. Neji looked down at me with a raised eyebrow then jumped off to join me. I was a little surprised at how easy he jumped down as well, however that might have just been because he was so strong.

I walked inside, and he was behind me the entire time. I was a little disappointed that he didn't want to walk with me, but it was alright…

We entered the living room and I looked around. "Where's Sakura and Hinata?" I asked.

"They're making us brownies!" Ino cheered.

I laughed a bit and sat down on the empty sofa as Neji sat down at his arm chair again, pushing Naruto out of it. "Of course…"

"Hey TenTen?" Naruto asked, sitting on the arm of Neji's chair and setting his feet in Sasuke's lap across his chair. Sasuke rolled his eyes but let him.

"Huh?" I asked warily. '_I hope he doesn't ask me about what I was doing with Neji…_'

"I was just wondering…you Sakura and Hinata seem really close to each other, like you're related or something. Why is that?"

I felt relief flow through me. "Well…" I grinned a little. "Heh, this gives me time to pay them back, now I get to tell you guys a little something about them!" I pulled my legs up to me, crossing them. "Well, I met Sakura first. They forced me to be her 'study buddy' to help me with my grades, since she was so smart and I, apparently, wasn't. I hated her at first." Everyone looked like they didn't exactly doubt that, and I laughed. "Well, I guess it's pretty likely that I would hate her. She was the prettiest girl in school, the sweetest girl in school, the smartest girl in school…But…there were a couple flaws."

"Like what?" Ino asked.

"Her forehead." I said, smiling a little. "Everyone would always gossip that she had a huge-ass forehead. I guess I kind of make fun of it too. She's still not ugly or anything. But the girls at our school hated her and were really jealous of her, so they made fun of that fact, that and the fact that she had really awful self consciousness issues. She was always really shy, believe it or not. She didn't like talking to people and thought herself really unimportant."

I giggled. "I remember one day when we were in a study session together…I still hated her, but I saw some girls laughing at her because of her forehead, and I didn't like that…so I spoke up for her. Sakura admitted after that that she admired me…and then we got into some pretty deep conversations. She compared herself to a flower arrangement…you know, how there's a base flower that shines out among the rest, which are all just the smaller, not so important flowers that make up the arrangement. She said compared to the base flower, she's just a weed that no one sees…"

I leaned back in the sofa and stared at the ceiling. "…For once, I didn't know what to say…and sometimes, I wish I had said something. Because she still considers herself…unimportant. Just a weed. Even after I bonded with her a lot after that and gave her confidence, and we became friends…even after we found Hinata and became friends with her…she's still like this."

Ino smiled, however. "Well…she's not like a weed at all." I looked over at Ino. She had her hands clasped in her lap, her eyes staring at her palms. "She's more like…a bud." She nodded. "Yeah. A bud. She just hasn't bloomed yet. We just need to give her time, you know? It's the same with most people."

I nodded slowly, still watching Ino. '_For some reason, something about Ino seems off sometimes…but even so, I like her…_'

"Well…how about Hinata, then?" Naruto asked suddenly.

I grinned. "Well…Sakura and I became friends after that day…even though people didn't really like us, we stuck together like sisters. Her mom took care of me like her own kid, even though she couldn't afford to adopt me. And one day, when we were walking down the halls, we saw a new kid in school, being ganged up on by some of the more popular kids in the school. She was the 'famous' Hinata Hyuuga. Everyone wondered why a rich girl was in school, and they teased her because of that, and it was even worse that she was so shy. I…hated that." I looked back down at my knees. "Sakura and I, we both hated that. It was so stupid! Why hurt someone like that because of her social status, because of her personality, when they're just things she can't help? So, well…of course, I stood up for her, and even…"

"Beat the kids up?" Temari guessed, laughing.

"They deserved it!" I said defensively. "And anyways, it just made Hinata our friend from then on, because she had never had anyone stand up for her before. So, well…I guess that's where we are now…transferred…"

"Hey, guys, we're back with the brownies!" Sakura sang cheerfully, entering from the kitchen with a steaming tray in her hands, Hinata coming behind her with a smile on her face.

"Goodie!" Ino cheered, rushing over to Sakura and plucking a brownie from the tray. Sakura gave her a big smile and looked at everyone else.

"Who else wants one?"

"They're yummy!" Ino cried.

Everyone shrugged, and Sakura giggled, knowing that in 'their language', this was practically a yes, and she waltzed around handing everyone a brownie from the tray. As I took my own and watched everyone laughing, glancing once at Neji for some reason, I couldn't help but feel, now that so many people knew so much about us…

…a little bit better…

**X**X**X**X**X**

yeah, it's a little boring, ne? sorry. next chapter will be much more fun, I promise! and I'll try to explain what happened in the beginning of this chapter too. :)  
Ok, I just saw an anime movie called _5 Centimeters Per Second_, and I bawled my eyes out. Guys, seriously, look it up on YouTube and watch the whole thing, it's really good and really sad and just beautiful. It's not exactly an action movie, more like a real-life kind of thing, and it doesn't end with a happy ending at all, even though there are no deaths. -dies a little on the inside- On the other hand, if you're looking for a cutesy, happy-ending movie, then look up _Lovely Complex_ on YouTube, it's really cute. There's a manga of it too, which is also pretty cute. :) or else, if you're looking for a good one, there's 'The place promised in our early days", which is, well, _okay_, but not amazing, I didn't really get most of it. I really recommend looking them up on youtube, you'll enjoy it. :)  
Another thing, guys, there's a story that I really recommend!! It's called Secret Agents by a loyal reviewer of mine named Apple Mistress. Look it up! It's not loved enough! x(  
Re-Read & Edited while listening to: _Everchanging_ by _Rise Against :D  
_Like it? Love it? Hate it? Dislike it? Don't care about it? Review it! ;)Shoot for the stars: oh my…um…330? :)  
thanks for reading!  
xmarachanx


	10. Perfect View

Hey guys!**  
**Ok, before I say anything; I've been getting a lot of complaints about my deleting The Fruit Basket. Please give me a break, seriously. I'm getting sick of it. I deleted it for my reasons. No, I don't want you stealing my story idea and finishing it yourself. No I will not email it to you. I suck? Suck what? Maybe I'll like it. :P (Yes, I've gotten some pm's going 'you suck cause you deleted that awesome story!) One more time, _give me a break_.  
thanks so much to:  
EmiKoizumi.x, xXxKimakoxXx, Pnkrockninja101, o.O, Kyra-Mitsu, AppleMistress, Youkai Koneko, Hikoru, Aniki, Chigiri Sasaki, ShinobiXAngel, Merciless Ruby, Tilders, Ukyou-Taisuke, DarkAnimeAngel13, siny, Kick -Assing -Kunoichi, Uchiha, Nami, Strawberry Lulz, MidniteCurse4Eternity, naruto.luv.llamas, kimiko77, waterdragonrai, Nerd4eva, XxkIkIrOxX, totalnarutofangirl85, Shenhui, Jackie, HisEyesMyName-AmBeR159, Kiwipie, SparkyCasper, Sunny Soul, mangamaniacgurl, Dreaming101, Shikyo no Amatsu Shinsei, .xXx.hikari.midnight.xXx., PandaKingzEatPorkBunz, anthropomorphichybrid, Akemi Akira, Daisy Valentine, SMOKe13  
Enjoy!

**X**X**X**X**X**

**H**e**a**r **N**o **E**v**i**l  
_See no evil. Speak no evil._

**D**i**s**c**l**a**i**m**e**r: Oh emm eff gee, I don't own Naruto. :)  
**S**o**n**g: _She's a Rebel_ by _Greenday_ :)

**C**h. **T**e**n **- Perfect View

_She's the symbol  
Of resistance  
And she's holding on my  
Heart like a hand grenade_

**T**e**n**T**e**n

I woke the next morning to something different than the usual obnoxious beeping from my alarm clock, or Sakura yelling, "TenTen, get your ass out of bed!" It was _music_, not just a monotone of endless drones; it was music…_techno_ music, to be specifically categorist.

"Hello? Oh, hi Kiba-kun!"

I groaned and opened my eyes. '_What…?_' I blinked furiously, getting used to the light, and sat up straight, then felt my eyes widen a bit. I had been laying my head on Sakura's shoulder, Hinata's head on her other shoulder, as we had slept on one sofa in the living room of the house. Sasuke, Neji, and Naruto were all asleep on the floor; Naruto's head was on Sasuke's stomach, Sasuke's head on Neji's stomach, and Neji's arms crossed behind his head.

I turned to look over at the others. Ino had been sleeping on top of the back of the other sofa, and now she was sitting with her feet dangling over, chatting on her cell phone, which had woken me up. And beneath her on the sofa lay Shikamaru, his arms around Temari and his head nuzzled into her neck as the two slept there soundly.

I smiled. '_Wow…they all really are like family…_'

"What? No, I did not have sex with him! Why, what did he say?" Ino asked into her phone. "..._Oh_…" she put a finger to her chin and giggled guiltily. "Whoopsie."

"Mph…Great, that's nice to hear first thing in the morning." Temari muttered as she yawned a bit and snuggled a bit more into Shikamaru. "Ino, you slut…"

"Don't make me say what you and Shika did the other night!"

"Would you two respect everyone else's innocence?" Shikamaru murmured sleepily, giving a loud lazy yawn and kissing Temari's neck quickly.

"Hm? Oh, I forgot we spent the night here…" Hinata said quietly, waking up and getting off of the still sleeping Sakura.

"Morning Hina." I said, giving her a big grin. She returned it sweetly as Sakura, still in her sleeping state, curled sideways.

Naruto woke up with a jolt and sat up, wiping a bit of drool away from the corner of his mouth and rubbing his eyes into wakefulness. The lack of weight suddenly on Sasuke's stomach woke up, and he sat up slowly, which woke Neji, who did the same and immediately stretched his arms out.

Sasuke sighed as he watched Ino chatting on her cell phone. "Thanks for waking us up, Ino."

"You're welcome!"

"Ever heard of sarcasm?" Neji asked.

"Yeah, silly Neji-kun, ever heard of 'right back at you'?" Neji just rolled his eyes and Ino giggled. "See you later, Kiba-kun." She flipped her phone down then turned to Neji. "Besides, I wasn't the one that woke you up, it was TenTen and Hina-chan."

"Us?! Why us?!" I hissed, trying not to wake Sakura.

Neji, Naruto, and Sasuke, however, all looked mildly surprised to see us as they turned quickly at our names to stare. I raised an eyebrow as Hinata blushed, bright red. '_What, did they forget we spent last night here too?_'

Naruto kept staring, but Neji was the first to recover. He shrugged, stood slowly, and walked out of the room without a word.

"Where's he going?" Temari murmured, still being hugged by Shikamaru.

"Probably to change." Sasuke said, shrugging as he too stood.

"Hinata-chan, why are you here?" Naruto asked.

"…Poor dobe." Sasuke muttered, laughing a bit and bonking Naruto lightly on the head with a fist. He turned to look at us. "He's always kind of slow in the mornings. Not that he always isn't, just more slow than usual."

"…Ah…" I was still kind of confused about their stupidity levels sometimes. "Well, I'm gonna wake this chick. Hinata, steer clear."

Hinata sighed and took it literally, scooting back on the sofa a bit as I timidly poked Sakura's arm. "Hey, Saki…get up, okay…? And don't kill m-" As usual, I didn't even get to finish my sentence, because a fist nearly collided with my face. It probably would have if I hadn't been ready for something like this and grabbed it in my own palm. "Sheesh, Sakura, you have to fix that habit of yours." I muttered, flinging her fist back at her as she sat up, looking bewildered for a second then understanding where she was and what had happened, her expression changing to one of frustration and apologies.

"It's a reflex! I'm trying to work myself out of it, but my body just reacts violently!" she cried.

"Okay, okay…"

"Stop being so rude, damn it!"

**x**x**x**x**x**

"Nice…" Temari said, grinning widely. Hinata, Sakura and I couldn't help but blush through our frowns. Yes, Ino had yet again ripped us out of our school attire and decided to use us as her Barbie dolls, which she must have been so cruelly deprived as a young girl, and dressed us in her and Temari's clothes. I was starting to think I'd have to get used to that…

I wore a white, Chinese-collared, sleeveless shirt with three gold buttons going down the middle, black jean capris, and black flats with gold heels and stitching. Sakura, a white shirt with a light pink tank over it that had one slash through the middle showing the white shirt underneath, dark pink jean shorts, and white and pink flats. And Hinata wore a lacy white tank, baggy white pants with a pearly-blue ribbon around the waist, and white flats peeking beneath the hem of the long baggy pants.

The others had gotten dressed as well. Ino had on a tight black tube top with 'sexy' written in faded white letters across the chest, showing her pierced navel, a black miniskirt, fishnet stockings, and black strapped heels. Temari, a black shirt that was very loose, the short sleeves hanging low, tied around the waist with a thick, bright red sash about the width of my hand, a long skirt, and flats. Both of them had loads of makeup on.

On the other hand, the boys looked just as good. Neji wore a brown button-up collared shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, blue-jeans, and brown vans. Sasuke wore a navy blue tee, the sleeves ripped off, jeans with rips at the knees, and black Vans. Naruto wore an orange tee with a black spiral in the center, baggy black sweats, black converse, and a black and white striped arm warmer on his left hand. And Shikamaru wore a black fishnet shirt over a black muscle shirt, black sweatpants, and black vans.

Ino grinned as she looked everyone over, proud of her short but hard work. "Great! Now let's go pick up Kiba and Lee, and we'll head over to the mountains!"

"The mountains?" Sakura asked, confused.

"Mhm! That's where we're going first, to the mountains!"

"I still don't get what the big deal about mountains is…can't we go home?" I muttered as we all left the house orderly and made our way to the two cars, Ino and Temari pushing and racing against each other to be the driver.

"Nope. You're being blackmailed into this, so you have to do what we say!" Naruto said a little too cheerfully.

"Or what?" Sakura snapped.

Sasuke turned slowly to smirk at her. "You don't want to know."

Sakura, Hinata and I gulped, and Neji sighed. "Just come with us and you'll see. It'll pay off, hanging out with us, I assure you."

"Not very reassuring, but I guess we have no choice." I said, sighing.

"Hah! I get to drive, _Temari_!"

"Damn it! I'm driving the way back, got that, _pig_?!"

"Whatchya call me?!"

"Stop it…" Shikamaru said, rolling his eyes and pulling Temari into the car.

I laughed a bit. '_Maybe Neji's right, maybe it will pay off_.'

**S**a**k**u**r**a

"So we're going to the mountains first, huh?" I asked, staring out the backseat window of the car Ino was driving into the far distance where the white mounds of rock of the Konoha mountains towered proudly and stared over Konoha. "Then what?"

"Then we're going bowling, then the beach, then-"

"Okay, we get it. Just surprise us, okay?" TenTen interrupted, smiling.

Ino laughed and shrugged. "Okay, okay."

Without warning, the car took a sharp swerve. TenTen, Hinata and I all shrieked in surprise as the car literally tilted on two tires, screeching obnoxiously as cars that Ino cut off beeped and screamed out of their windows indignantly.

"Wh-Wh-What the _fuck_ was that, Ino?!" TenTen stuttered furiously as Hinata and I tried to calm ourselves, the car righting itself and driving straight on.

Ino giggled. "Wow, you guys don't need to have heart attacks."

"W-We're not _used_ to that k-kind of driving." Hinata explained as kindly as possible using her staggering voice as I controlled my breathing deeply.

"What, so you get all scared?" Temari asked, scoffing. "Come on, trust us; when Ino or I are in the front seat, _none_ of you are going to get a scratch…unless we're being chased by the cops or another gang."

"That _happens_?!" I gasped.

Temari raised an eyebrow and nodded. "Um, yeah."

"Duh!" Ino said, laughing wildly as she pulled suddenly into a gas station.

"Oh, hold it. I thought we were going to the mountains." I said.

"Yeah, but we're picking up Kiba and Lee too! Sakura, TenTen, Hinata, wanna go meet Lee?"

"Eh, I already know Lee from homeroom." TenTen said, waving her hand a bit while still breathing a little heavily.

Hinata and I shared a glance, and Hinata turned to Ino with a smile. "Me and Sakura would be happy to."

"Hm, Lee? I haven't seen him in a while…I'll go say hi to him too." Sasuke said.

"I'll come too!" Naruto volunteered.

"Fine, leave the rest of us behind." Temari said loudly.

"Sorry Tema-chan!" Ino cried.

Temari grinned and laughed a bit. "No problem, I was just kidding. Besides, I have this cool chick to talk to, right TenTen?" She leaned an arm over the trunk and slapped TenTen playfully on the head.

"Ouch!"

I giggled a bit, and we all exited the car timely enough. "So where do we meet them?" I asked as we crossed the parking lot together towards the gas station.

"Inside the building, of course, that's where we told them to meet us." Sasuke said.

"Inside the building?" Hinata asked shyly. "Why inside of a gas station?"

"That's loitering…" I added under my breath.

Temari shrugged. "Sasuke tends to make meeting spots kind of random…so do the other gangs, actually. Gas stations and off-the-road hangouts are pretty popular places to meet up at, or even raid, around here."

"…Oh…" Hinata and I said at the same time somewhat unenthusiastically.

We were about to turn the corner of the building, when suddenly an explosion of green burst forth in our faces. I jumped back, hitching onto Hinata's arm, when a black-haired, bug-eyed boy clad in green swooped over to us dramatically and bowed, kneeling on one long leg, extending the other one lengthily behind him, ducking his head far too low, and throwing both of his hands, clasped together, in the air in front of me.

"You are the beautiful fabled Sakura Haruno, are you not?!" he asked in an overly-loud voice.

I blinked down at him. He wasn't even looking at me, just the dirty, stained cement, yet he bowed straight in front of me and addressed me directly. "Um…yes…?"

He looked up at me and beamed perfect white teeth, which gleamed with a ting when the sunlight reflected off of them, and winked one eye slowly with an air of utmost confidence. "I am the handsome green beast of Konoha, Rock Lee! And I propose that you are the most lovely of all fragile flowers in my eyes! Please, will you be my girlfriend?!"

I blinked at him once, then made an appalled face. "_EH_?!"

He straightened up, still beaming, and whipped a bouquet of roses from behind his back, which were clutched far too tightly in a hand which he had been hiding up till now behind his skinny figure. Wow, that sure was a feat; what was he, anorexic?! "Please! I promise I will protect you even if my life depends on it! No matter what! I will ask you again, will you be my girlfriend, Sakura Haruno, beautiful cherry-blossom?!"

"_No way in hell_!" I shrieked incredulously, absolutely horrified. '_Oh my god, how could I ever go out with this freak?! He's weird-looking and talks funny and is just way to creepy! EWW!_'

Lee's face drooped. "But Sakura-!"

"Save it, Lee." Kiba rounded the corner of the building and stood next to a disappointed Lee, rubbing his back in light circles. "You're creeping her out, I mean, you just met her. You hadn't even seen her before you bought those stupid roses ahead of time, you'd only heard about her from me and Ino! How can you be so obsessed with her when you barely know her?!"

"From what I heard she is a remarkable girl, and now that I lay eyes on her I know she is! Have you never heard of love at first sight?!"

"Sure I've heard of it, but I've never believed it!"

As they continued to argue I was choking back gags, my tongue out, shivering at the creepiness of it all, Hinata sighing and rolling her eyes exasperatedly and rubbing my back in an effort to console me. Ino, Sasuke, and Naruto were looking back and forth between Kiba and Lee, and me and Hinata, Ino frowning at me, Sasuke looking annoyed, and Naruto looking thoroughly entertained.

When Kiba had finally convinced Lee to settle down and save it for later, and throw his roses away, Lee turned to Sasuke and glared. "Sasuke Uchiha! We meet again!"

"Lee." Sasuke greeted him simply, glaring right back.

Lee smiled a bit. "My old rival…almost worse than Neji Hyuuga himself...The incredible warrior, Sasuke Uchiha…my, my, how time has passed…"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "No need for that, Lee, I saw you practically a month ago at that one raid, unless you've forgotten."

"To Lee that could be like fifty years." Kiba said, grinning and clapping Lee on the back. "Come on, dude, let's go, we're gonna have some fun today to get your mind off of training and rivalry."

"That's the only thing on his mind _ever_ though." Naruto pointed out.

**H**i**n**a**t**a

"I'm _bored_!" TenTen, Naruto, and Kiba all complained.

"Oh shut _up_!" Sakura and Sasuke both chanted loudly.

"What is this, choreographed?! You've all said that at the same time about fifty times." Sakura groaned.

"All of you just deal with it! You're giving me a headache!" Sasuke added, rubbing his temples.

"Geeze, you're right, Neji. Sakura and Sasuke really are the same." Naruto said, grinning.

Sakura looked disgusted at the mere idea. Meanwhile, Temari and Shikamaru were sleeping in each other's arms on the floor of the trunk, Kiba and Lee kneeling there as well and avoiding them, and Neji and I were both just watching it all exasperatedly while Ino drove along humming cheerfully to herself and Lee stared in a daze at Sakura, whom completely ignored him.

TenTen sighed. "Well what's there to do in a car, come on? _Nothing_. We've been driving forever, and even _with_ Ino's crazy speed it's like we're not even getting any closer!"

"Just sit still and be quiet and time will go by faster than you think." Sakura suggested in an annoyed monotone.

"That never works…" Naruto muttered, pouting. "There has to be something we can do…we always used to find ways to pass the time…"

"How about singing a song!" Ino suggested happily.

"That sounds like a fantastic idea!" Lee cried.

"_No_." Almost everyone in the car said this in a low voice. Ino shrugged, but she was not fazed in the slightest, the usual smile still on her face.

"Okay…hmm…Temari, you're good at this stuff. What's there to do?"

I glanced back at the trunk of the car and saw Temari give a small wave of her hand. "Don't care, I'm tired…" she barely mumbled before turning back into Shikamaru, who was snoozing away. "This lazy ass's laziness has rubbed off on me, I know it…"

"Um…okay then, TenTen, Sakura, Hinata, any of you have any ideas?"

I shook my head apologetically. Sakura looked out the window. "Why don't we play a game called shut up and let Sakura relax?" she sarcastically suggested in a bitter tone. Sasuke snorted and Sakura sent him a look which he ignored before turning back to the window.

TenTen frowned. "Eh, can't think of anything to do in a car…" she thought for a bit, her eyes straying to the ceiling of the car. Everyone was silent, the rumble of the car the only thing to be heard, then she suddenly snapped her fingers, a spark coming to her eyes again. "Ah! I have it! Perfect!"

Sakura twisted around to look at her curiously as well as everyone else, and she grinned at us. "Sakura, Hinata, do you remember when we had that school field trip to that boring old museum back in Kiri?"

"That place where we broke the glass vase that cost about fifty thousand dollars and got away with it?" Sakura asked, laughing guiltily at the memory.

I smiled. "Only because we didn't tell anyone that we broke it…"

TenTen nodded. "Mhm! Well, remember the bus ride there and back was about an hour long, right? Well, do you remember what we did for that hour?"

Sakura and I both smiled, remembering, suddenly. "Yeah!" Sakura said. "We tried to get cars to beep!"

"What?" Ino asked.

Sakura giggled. "Well, we'd each take turns sitting at the window seat, and when the teachers weren't looking the person at the window seat would hold up a piece of paper that said 'beep' on it at passing cars. When that person got a car to beep, then the person next to them would sit at the window seat and try. The person who got fifty cars to beep wins."

"That's not hard at all." Ino said, sounding disappointed at the lack of complication.

I smiled. "Actually, it is. It's illegal to beep randomly in the middle of a highway, so most people aren't too willing to beep, only a few. And of course, that's not the only thing we did."

"What else?" Kiba asked, sounding interested.

"We'd play the yellow car game." TenTen said, then she smirked. "_Extreme_ version."

"Oh, I know the yellow car game!" Ino said happily. "When someone sees a yellow car then they say 'I call it!' and they get one point. When you call a yellow slug bug its three points. But busses don't count. And when we pass an orange car, the person with the most points looses three points. The person to get fifty points first wins. Right?"

"Mhm! But we play it different. We _gamble_." TenTen said slyly.

"Gamble? Gamble what?" Kiba asked, grinning a little. I could tell that he liked things like this.

"Anything we feel like, really." Sakura said, shrugging. "It could be a book or money or anything else. The person who wins gets whatever the others gambled for themselves. I lost plenty of clothes to TenTen and Hinata that way…"

TenTen laughed excitedly. "Whatever! This time I'm gambling money!"

Naruto beamed. "I wanna play the yellow car game more than the truck thing, okay?! I love gambling, me and teme play poker all the time!"

"And you never finish a game because it always ends in you two fighting." Neji muttered, rolling his eyes.

Shikamaru spoke up suddenly. "And then you try to break them up, Hyuuga, and sooner or later you get dragged into the fight."

"And then lazy-genius here tries to break you three up and he ends up getting hurt somehow." Temari added with a small laugh.

Ino giggled. "And then it's up to Tema-chan to hit you all on the head and call you big idiots while I just sit and laugh!" she cheered.

Sakura, TenTen and I all blinked a little and changed the subject quickly. "Well, so we're playing the yellow car game then?"

"Sounds fun." Naruto said, nodding.

TenTen grinned. "Okay, then it starts _now_. I call it!"

"I call it!"

"No, I called it first, forehead!"

"_I_ did, Panda!"

I sighed. '_This is going to be a long car ride…_'

**T**e**n**T**e**n

"Woooow…" Sakura, Hinata and I all breathed at the same time. After the momentous car ride, in which I lost fifty dollars to Sakura, we parked and made our way up the mountain. Now we stood, leading on the balcony of the wooden ramp that winded for travelers and hikers through the mountains, our arms crossed and leaning over to gaze down the dark brown rocks. We were at the very top, peering through the slight mist that was refreshing to breathe in, like a glass of cool water, and raised goose-bumps on my arms and legs, tickling my skin pleasantly. The cool, lukewarm air brushed my bangs along my forehead in a nice breeze and made Sakura and Hinata's long hair sway.

I smiled, gazing down at the village of the entire city of Konoha. The shiny silver buildings and black, dead-end alleyways that no one dared go down were suddenly so less intimidating. I felt stronger, and yet more peaceful as well. Like I was going through some wonderful state of release.

"It's amazing…" Sakura said quietly, as though a loud voice would shatter the delicate environment. "I can see literally everything…"

"I know…" Hinata said softly. "I think I can see Konoha High…"

"And there's our house…?" I guessed, pointing.

"Yeah, I think so…"

I noticed the others watching from behind us but didn't turn around. However, as Sakura and Hinata pointed out random things in hushed voices, I listened half to them and half to the others behind us.

"Those three are so cute." Ino noted. Of course, they didn't think I could hear.

"Mhm." Temari said. "They're pretty serene when it comes to this stuff, aren't they?"

"They're different, those girls." Kiba said. "Like you two, Ino, Temari."

"Yup." Temari said. "That's why we like them so much. TenTen's a ton of fun and I bet she can make anyone laugh. Sakura's hilarious and really caring. Hinata's really sweet and adorable and she can make me smile just by looking at her. Plus they're all bloody brilliant."

"…Yeah…" Neji said slowly, quietly. His voice sounded like he was thinking deeply about something, and I had to try very hard not to turn red.

"…I guess…you're right." Sasuke muttered. I could imagine him now, staring at Sakura intently…

"You _are_ right…" Naruto said softly. Was he thinking about Hinata? They seemed really close…

"Especially my Sakur-!"

"I said _save it_, Lee." Kiba interrupted.

I resisted the urge to laugh and blush at the same time while turning back to Sakura and Hinata. '_Do they really think about us like that? Wow, that's a first…_'

"So, you guys done looking at the scenery?" Sasuke asked after a while.

The three of us turned back to them with smiles on our faces. "Sure." Sakura said dreamily, still a bit dazed by the surroundings. All three of us leaned our backs against the balcony, facing them. My arms were crossed, Sakura's were out to her sides, resting on the balcony railing, and Hinata's were clasped in front of her.

Sasuke chuckled a bit at that, but Neji smirked. "Good. Now we'll show you guys the _real_ reason we came here."

"…Huh…?" I asked, raising an eyebrow warily. "What, are you going to get in a shooting match?"

Neji laughed a bit. "Nothing like that. But think, have you ever tried going _off_ the actual _trail_ before?"

"What are you talking about…?" Sakura asked bluntly.

Sasuke sighed. "Listen, don't you have mountains in Kiri?"

"Of course." Hinata said, smiling. "We'd go to the mountains all the time. It's lucky that TenTen, Sakura and I all have at least one thing in common, and that's our love for nature."

Sasuke, Naruto and Neji all smiled for a split second before going blank again and Sasuke continued. "Well, have you ever tried going off the trail?"

"…Off the trail?" Sakura asked slowly, confused, as Sasuke, Neji, and Naruto suddenly started walking towards us. Ino and Temari were both laughing a bit, and the other three boys were rolling their eyes at all the dramatics.

"What are you talking about?" I repeated Sakura's earlier question warily as Neji suddenly halted in front of me.

He smirked. "Like this." All of a sudden he pushed his hands onto my shoulders and, giving me one shove, I fell over the side of the balcony, giving out a loud "Wha-?!" of surprise, and my bottom slammed onto the hard rock of the ground. I quickly set my hands on the ground too so I wouldn't fall over completely and stared, wide-eyed and completely shocked, at Neji over the other side of the balcony, still smirking down at me.

Sakura and Hinata stared in surprise at me for a while, but both of them suddenly started giggling madly. "Hah! TenTen, what the hell was that?! You can shoot a kid in the head but you can't stop Neji from pushing you over a balcony! Lame!" Sakura said with mirth.

"A-Are you o-okay, TenTen-chan?" Hinata asked between her own cute little giggles.

I glowered furiously on the ground before suddenly lunging out, snatching Neji's wrist in my hand, and yanking him viciously over the balcony as well. He caught himself quickly by grabbing onto the balcony, his hair falling over his shoulders, and he laughed a bit and pulled his wrist out of my grasp. "Hey, hold on a second, I was gonna come over anyway, you don't need to pull."

Sakura kept laughing as I blushed a little, while screaming, '_HE DOESN'T GET IT!'_ in my mind. Sasuke saw her laughing and smirked himself.

"I wouldn't be laughing if I were you." One second later, Sakura was letting out a short surprised shriek as Sasuke lifted her up and held her over his shoulder, keeping one hand over his head and on the small of her back to keep her steady as he used the other hand to hoist himself over the balcony with her. She started struggling immediately, of course, as I stood next to Neji, the two of us watching interestedly, and yelled, "Let me go, Sasuke!"

"Ouch! Damn it, woman, that hurt!" Sasuke snapped as she kicked him sharply in the shoulder.

"Then put me down, _right now_, or I'll-!"

"Or what?! Challenge a gang leader?!"

"_Have you seen what these fingers can do_?!" There was no response. "Yeah, now _let me go_!"

"You know what, _gladly_!" With that, Sasuke dropped Sakura without care onto the ground.

"Ouch! What the hell?!"

"You told me to let you go, didn't you?" he asked sarcastically, giving her a rude look before brushing himself off and rubbing his sore back, probably bruised from Sakura slamming her fists into him.

"Come on, Hinata-chan!" Naruto said, grinning widely and climbing over the balcony, then holding his hand out to Hinata. She took it tentatively, and in a flash he had pulled her over gracefully and set her down gently.

As I helped Sakura up, both of us smiled at the pair, Naruto brushing off a blushing Hinata. "Ne, TenTen…Who knew Naruto was a gentleman…" Sakura said quietly under her breath.

I nodded. "And look at how Hina-chan's blushing like that…" I responded just as silently as she thanked him sweetly and he just laughed and rubbed the back of his head, a bit of red tinting the bridge of his nose. "They seem to be really close…"

Both of us, ignoring Neji and Sasuke behind us, watching us, turned to each other slowly with large eyes. "Do you think…" we both whispered at the same time. It was silent for a while, as realization dawned on us. Then we both suddenly grabbed each other's hands and started jumping up and down, squealing and screaming excitedly.

Hinata and Naruto both stopped what they were doing and twisted around to stare at the pair of us, and I saw Neji and Sasuke behind us raise eyebrows, then smirk fondly. Shikamaru lazily sat on the balcony, covering his ears, as Ino and Temari hopped over to us. "Shut that troublesome screaming up, you banshees!" he shouted over us, annoyed, as Lee and Kiba jumped over the balcony and laughed wildly at our antics.

"Oh stop it, Shika!" Ino scolded, smiling at us.

"Yeah, Shikamaru, they're being entertaining, at least." Temari said, smirking and leaning back against him, watching us. Meanwhile, we just kept on screaming, not caring about anything but what we had just understood. We were both thinking the same thing;

'_It's true; she's finally found someone!_'

**X**X**X**X**X**

Ok, so this is gonna be a normal thing, these late updates, and they're only gonna get even later once school starts. I'm going into my junior year, and that's the hardest year in high school, so I really need to focus more on school. wish me luck, school starts in a couple weeks! :O I'll do my best! :D Well, see you all next chapter. There will be tons of NaruHina, so be ready for it! ;P  
Re-Read & Edited while listening to: the second season's theme song of the anime _Lovely Complex. _:D  
Like it? Love it? Hate it? Dislike it? Don't care about it? Review it! ;)  
Shoot for the stars: 360? :)  
thanks for reading!  
xmarachanx


	11. Here and There

Hey guys!  
Thanks so much to:  
Pandastacia, Kick- Assing -Kunoichi, Merciless Ruby, RedMapleLeaf, totalnarutofangirl85, ShinobiXAngel, .xXx.hikari.midnight.xXx., waterdragonrai, SMOKe13, DarlAnimeAngel13, Pnkrockninja101, Panda Pig, mangamaniacgurl, Youkai Koneko, Music 1s my s0ul, HisEyesMyName-AmBeR159, Daisy Valentine, Shenhui, Dreaming101, siny, MidniteCurse4Eternity, Sunny Soul, xXxKimakoxXx, XxkIkIrOxX, Kyra-Mitsu, kimiko77, Teera-chan, minimuffin-on-acid, Hikoru, Aniki, Uchiha, Nami, Nerd4eva, 0o0InoChan0o0, ShikalllTema, anthropomorphichybrid  
Ah, you make me so happy, keep up the reviews, and here's a chapter just for you (and a smile to go with it) :)  
Enjoy!

**X**X**X**X**X**

**H**e**a**r **N**o **E**v**i**l  
_See no evil. Speak no evil._

**D**i**s**c**l**a**i**m**e**r: Oh emm eff gee, I don't own Naruto. :)  
**S**o**n**g: _She's a Rebel_ by _Greenday_ :)

**C**h. **E**l**e**v**e**n - Here and There

_Is she dreaming  
What I'm thinking  
Is she the mother of all bombs  
Gonna detonate_

**T**e**n**T**e**n

"Smile number fifteen…record it, Saki."

"Right ahead of you, TenTen."

"Oh, flirty giggle number six followed by…it looks like a brag! Yeah, it's a brag number one!"

"No, Hinata bragging?! That's a big one, let's write it down."

"Oh, and now it's flirty giggle number seven, smile number sixteen…"

"Slow down I can't write that fast!...Okay, and…?"

"Adorable childhood story number twelve!"

"Of course! Got it."

"Ten-chan, Saku-chan, if you keep lagging behind you'll get lost!" Ino called loudly to us.

Sakura and I looked over the rim of the notebook Sakura had been scribbling down in and noticed everyone in front of us, stopped and staring at us, including Hinata and Naruto. "TenTen, Sakura?" Hinata asked. "Usually you're the ones ahead…is something going on…?"

Sakura and I shared a glance, then we both started giggling nervously. "Of _course_ not!" Sakura said exuberantly.

"Haha, yeah, what would make you think something's going on?!" I asked, wearing my best fake smile I could manage, which apparently wasn't that great because none of the others in front of us looked convinced.

"What are you writing in that notebook?...And where'd you get it, too, from, like, no where?" Temari asked, raising an eyebrow. "And why aren't you catching up to us…? You're acting really suspicious…I mean, you guys were, like, jumping up and down like freaks earlier, and you never cared to explain what that was about either. Are you two psychic or something?"

Sakura and I glanced at each other again. "Um…nothing, never mind, carry on."

Temari rolled her eyes. "Alright, whatever…" They all started walking again. Hinata gave us one strange look before being pulled along gently by Naruto and absorbed back into a friendly conversation. I blew a sigh of relief and turned to Sakura. "Okay, so that's holding her wrist…is that a number one?"

"Yeah, I think so. I'll write it down. Is he still holding on?"

"No."

"Okay." Sakura scribbled it down in her notebook.

"May I ask what you're doing?"

Sakura and I both shrieked at the same time and jumped about a foot in the air when we heard Neji speak, and turned to see both him and Sasuke standing in front of us as the others moved on, Ino, Kiba, and Lee in the lead.

"Wh-What are you talking a-about?!" I stuttered, feeling myself start to get even more nervous.

Sasuke sighed. "_What's going on_? I'm asking you guys as your gang leader, tell me now what's going on."

Sakura gulped. "Nothing important!" she squeaked.

Neji and Sasuke shared a look then turned back to us. "Do you want us to get the answer out of you the hard way?" Sasuke asked with a bit of a smirk in his voice.

Sakura and I both paled. "…No..."

"It doesn't look like it." Sasuke's hand suddenly shot out towards Sakura and latched tightly onto her wrist.

"H-Hey, what are you-?"

"Okay, okay, we'll tell you!" I yelled, dodging Neji's hand that reached towards my wrist. Sasuke dropped a frenzied Sakura's wrist, who rubbed it, terrified, and backed up to stand next to me. "We're recording Naruto and Hinata-chan's actions."

Neji and Sasuke both raised an eyebrow. "What…?"

"What she said. Is it not simple enough for your small brains to comprehend?" Sakura asked slowly and bitterly, thoroughly irritated.

"Why are you recording their actions?" Sasuke asked, confused.

"We can't tell!" Sakura squealed, and I nodded. We weren't supposed to let it go why we were writing down everything Naruto and Hinata did to each other in Sakura's little pink pocket notebook she had kept in her back pocket. We couldn't say that we finally believed that there was someone worthy to be Hinata's partner, lover, boyfriend (maybe even fiancé or husband in the future), whatever you wanted to call it. Someone we'd searched our entire lives for. Someone that came so unexpectedly but that we knew could understand Hinata and made her happier than ever. Yeah, that someone. That was Naruto Uzumaki.

"We'll never tell, no matter what you do to us." Sakura continued.

Sasuke smirked. "What if we-"

"Teme, move your ass! We're here!"

"…Never mind. Come on, let's go."

"Where's 'here'?" I asked. They had been leading us, off the trail of the mountain, around tall rocks and bends and finally into a narrow path, walled high to the sky by mountain rock, that was apparently once a creek in the mountain side but was now dried up, twisting aimlessly through the huge rocks. The others had rounded a bend, and I heard Hinata gasp and narrowed my eyes, suspicious.

"You'll see." Neji said simply, and we followed him and Sasuke around the bend, and now it was Sakura and I that gasped.

There was an enormous dip in the mountain, probably once a large lake. Now it was covered in green; trees, bushes, grass, small flowers and plants, and only in the middle was there a miniature pond, covered in a layer of green moss and lilies. There were probably some Koi in there as well.

In short, it was beautiful.

"Wow…" I whispered, breaking the expectant silence. "This is…"

"Unexpected." Sakura finished for me, and Hinata, Sakura and I all laughed a bit under our breaths.

"Like it?" Ino asked, her tone excited.

"It's beautiful." Hinata responded sweetly. "How did you know this was here?"

"Did you just randomly decide to stray off the path?" I added.

Sasuke laughed a bit. "You could say that. We're a gang, we're meant to break the rules."

"Mhm, but it doesn't mean that we can't find a bit of peace and quiet sometimes..." Temari said, smiling. "Ino and I were the ones that found this place. We were running around the mountains, just racing each other, and then we got lost. We split up to find the trail again, and, well-"

"I came here!" Ino finished for Temari, smiling. "And then I called Temari back here, and then we used our cell phones to get everyone else back here, and this has been our favorite place to visit ever since! Isn't it pretty?! I love it, it's like a safe haven. We can go swimming, that's what Kiba, and Naruto do in the pond most of the time…Or we can skip stones, Sasuke and Lee like to do that…Oh, me and Temari can tan…Neji and Shikamaru like to read…"

"Most of the time we just come here to sleep over, like going camping. It's so peaceful, it's really nice to come here after a really raid or a challenge." Temari said, smiling and looking around the place fondly. "We just wanted to give you a glimpse of it first. Trust me, it's not the last time you'll see it. But we're the only ones who know of it, so we gotta keep it a secret."

I was in awe, and I knew Hinata and Sakura were too. "…So a gang can really be at peace sometimes, huh…?" Sakura asked in a hushed voice.

"It's so hard to picture you guys doing any of that…" I said, nodding and still taking everything in.

"It is a surprise…" Hinata admitted. Then she smiled. "But…For some reason, I can also expect this kind of thing out of you, now…You're not the stereotypical gang types, are you?"

Naruto grinned. "Course not. Now you get it? We're different."

"Different…" I said quietly, sharing a glance once with Neji. "Different is good."

Sakura laughed softly. "In this case, yeah."

It was silent for a while. A good silence, in this case.

**H**i**n**a**t**a

"Heh…told you guys I'd win."

"It's not fair! You have perfect aim, TenTen!"

"It's perfectly fair, Naruto. I beat every single one of you with my perfect aim. Am I _cheating_ in any way?"

"That is true, Naruto-kun! She beat you fair and square with her burning passion and flawless aim of _youth_!"

"…Um, thanks, but…burning passion? Really, Lee…?"

"You do not having burning passion for bowling, TenTen-chan?"

"…Not really…"

"…Oh…"

I giggled behind my hand. We were in the car, Ino driving us, on our way from bowling at Konoha's local bowling rink. TenTen had gotten straight strikes every single time, beating all of us and earning her a local record while she was at it. She had bragged a little, but not _too_ much, however Naruto still seemed a little huffy.

"Where are we headed next?" Sakura muttered darkly. She was gloomy, probably because, like Naruto, she was awful at bowling.

"Cheer up, Saki! We're going to the beach next!"

Sakura perked up instantly when Ino said that. "Really? Oh, that's good…" A smile slunk it's way onto Sakura's face, and TenTen and I were soon smiling too. We had been over-exposed to Konoha, to such scenery that we'd never seen before, and so far…we really were enjoying it. From the beautiful serenity of the secret mountain hideaway to having lunch and many laughs at the bowling rink. I wondered what was to come at the beach.

Before I could even imagine, though, Ino cried, "We're here!" and suddenly she swerved violently into a side road. I blinked and stared out the window. I hadn't noticed that the road had turned to a dirt one and that now, we were squealing into a spot in the dusty parking lot of a large lake.

TenTen immediately pressed her face to the window, peering out. "Wow! The water's so clean!" she cried, in awe.

"Isn't it great?" Temari asked, smirking proudly, as Ino turned the car off and we all filed out. "You don't get many nice beaches anymore, but Konoha's is one of the best."

"I don't doubt it!" Sakura said with a smile as Naruto darted about closing all the doors of the car. I glanced upwards. The sky was now darkening. The day had gone by pretty quickly. I smiled a bit. I didn't particularly mind…

"Race ya, Temari!"

"As if you'll win, Ino!"

I turned back to watch the two girls pushing and shoving each other through the sand, running quicker than lighting towards a picnic table. TenTen's eyes widened. "Hey, I think I just noticed, but those two are really fast."

Shikamaru nodded lazily, smirking, his eyes trained on Temari's back. "That's their specialty, speed. That's why they're the drivers in this gang. They both have their own nicknames in Konoha already."

"…Nicknames…?" Sakura asked, confused.

Kiba grinned. "Yep! They're Urban Legends around here! Ino's called the Soul Stealer, because it's said that she's so flirtatious and hott on her motorcycle, she steals any man's soul that's watching her go by. And Temari's call Wind Mistress, because she's so fast that when she's passing you on her motorcycle, people often mistake her for the wind."

"That's not an Urban Legend, that's a well thought out myth." Sakura muttered as we watched Temari slam into the picnic table a split second before Ino, thus reacting in the two arguing loudly, so loud that passerby stared at them and winced at the profanities they yelled shamelessly.

Kiba just laughed. "Either way, you can't deny the fact that they're both pretty cool." Sakura laughed and nodded, agreeing. "Well, let's go, then." Kiba said. "Looks like they got us a table, we don't want to deny them company."

**x**x**x**x**x**

"Nani?! Naruto, you carried that all yourself?! How come?!"

"Yes, how come you couldn't have dumped on TenTen instead? It would have been much funnier."

"Shut it, Sakura…"

I sighed, trying to ignore their fighting, as I gave a concerned look up at Naruto, who was stumbling over to us, face - and half of his body - hidden to us from behind a large, teetering stack of food that he had gotten from the shack. He must have had to wait in line behind all those people, then walk back to us with all of that food…! He was a little too considerate, now that I thought about it…

"Naruto-kun, ano…You didn't have to do this…" I said softly as he dumped it messily on the picnic table and breathed a huge sigh of relief, rubbing his arms.

He grinned at me. "Nah, I always do! Don't worry, I'm fine."

"Eh, I guess we didn't notice you gone for so long, dobe." Sasuke said, rubbing his head. "I mean, I usually make Hyuuga go help you just because it's fun to watch the two of you run around with shit in your arms."

That earned Sasuke a calm slap upside the head from my cousin, and TenTen a few giggles. "Itadakimasu!" Ino, Naruto, Kiba, and Lee shouted suddenly, and soon they were digging into the piles of sushi containers and fish and even some pocky sticks. Me and my two best friends shared a look before picking our own politely among the pile, then the rest chose theirs and began to eat.

As our dinner began and everyone around the table began to talk, Sakura, TenTen and I avoided conversation to look out at the waters of the beach. I felt my eyes brighten. It was nice. Children were running about creating makeshift sand-figures, splashing each other and flinging around mud and seaweed. Teenagers and adults were lounging in the sand or running about in the water and dunking each other violently, swimming out as far as they could go and playing games. Reckless laughing and giggles met my ears.

I smiled, for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. '_This place isn't like back home at all._'

**x**x**xxx**

"Hinata-chan, what are you doing all alone…?"

I felt myself stiffen and turn to see Naruto behind me, his head tilted to the side cutely, his eyes sparkling with curiosity. I was barefooted now, trailing through the sand, watching the waves next to me splash lightly against my heels then retreat quickly back to their icy depths. The sun was setting, casting a beautiful, colorful reflection in the water. Like a painting.

I stopped and turned to face Naruto straight on, smiling bravely. "Oh, Naruto-kun, um…I just wanted to take a walk." I cursed myself inwardly for talking so quietly, but he didn't seem to mind, just smiled back.

"Oh, okay. You wouldn't mind if I walked with you, right?" He looked hopeful. Well, I _wanted_ to have a walk of my own…but who could turn down that voice and face?

I nodded politely. "Of course I wouldn't."

He grinned and ran to catch up with me, standing to my left. I blushed a little. I was walking side by side with him now. Naruto was the first boy I'd ever gotten so close to, to talk so much to. Usually, boys intimidated me, greatly, but not Naruto. He had such a different personality. He was slightly like TenTen, but even _more_ exciting and funny. He was a bit like Sakura, but even _more_ caring and kind-hearted. He made me smile even more than they did.

"It's pretty out, isn't it?" he asked quietly after a while, his eyes gazing at the sunny waters.

I nodded, smiling again, seeing the distant look in his blue eyes. "Yes, it is. I never saw things like this in Kiri." I turned my head slightly to glance at the picnic table in the distance. When I had left, Sasuke was trying to teach Sakura how to play mercy while demonstrating, and winning, with Kiba. Now Sakura was playing with Kiba, and it seemed she was winning as well; She was simply standing there, raising an eyebrow, as Kiba jumped up in down in spot, yelping in pain as she crushed his hands easily. TenTen seemed to notice his pain, for she was now trying to pry Sakura off of him, but Sakura said something to TenTen, probably that Kiba hadn't said mercy yet, for she let go, then I could hear, from all the way to the shores, Kiba yell, "MERCY, DAMN IT! MERCY!", and Sakura let go.

Naruto and I both let out a laugh. "She takes all the fun out of it, but for some reason she's making a whole new kind of entertainment." Naruto noted chuckling.

I nodded with a giggle. "She's always been good at those kinds of things, just never noticed." I said. Now Sakura was busy checking Kiba's wrists with a guilty smile as Sasuke looked on proudly. Lee's eyes were sparkling in awe of her, and Neji and TenTen just looked exasperated. I laughed one more time before turning slowly to Naruto.

"She really is caring, believe it or not, and very nice."

"Don't worry, I believe it. You and TenTen both are too…A little _too_ caring, if I had my way. I mean, you're too nice for your own good, Hinata-chan. I bet I'm gonna start worrying about you soon enough, when we get into the real action in the gang. It's still early in the year, we have a lot of time ahead of us. I'll have to look out for you."

I blushed and looked down at the sand, ashamed at being a burden, and Naruto quickly continued. "Not that that's a bad thing! It's a good thing, Hinata, just what Konoha needs, someone like you, and TenTen and Sakura too. I think it's just what our gang needs. People to _care_ about."

"What about people to care about you…?" I asked quietly. He looked at me, looking surprised, and I smiled a bit. "We care about you as well. Cooking and cleaning, we only do that for friends and family where I come from. People you care about."

"Oh! I get it. Well, then, thanks a lot, and that's _exactly_ what we need. That's all a gang is, you know. People that care about each other." He grinned and faced forwards confidently. "That's what we're made of."

**S**a**k**u**r**a

"Hey, where's Hinata and Naruto?"

That one question, out of the blue, that Neji asked after I was done checking to see if Kiba had a broken wrist or not, sent me and TenTen on a mad dash towards each other, gazing greedily at the sight before us.

"Naruto and Hinata taking a walk on the beach together…Sakura, I think we've found a match!" TenTen cried as I nodded gleefully in agreement.

"What are you talking about, seriously?" Temari asked, sighing.

I turned back to face everyone and exhaled slowly to calm myself. My body was still tingling, though, with excitement, and my mind was still screaming, '_Come on, Hinata, Naruto! Make your move!_'

"You guys want to know a little secret?"

"Um, if it'll explain what's up with you two, _yeah_." Temari said impatiently.

TenTen grinned. "Okay, then you have to promise you _will not_ let it slip to Naruto or Hinata, _and_ you'll help us out."

"Okay, okay, whatever, just tell us." Sasuke said, irritated.

I smiled. "Okay! Hinata and Naruto are in love, and we're researching so we can try to find ways to push em together!"

Everyone in the gang just froze and stared at us, blinking repeatedly. Finally Neji broke the silence, asking, "…What…?"

"They. Are. In. Love." TenTen said slowly as if she was talking to a preschooler. "Get it…?"

"With whom?" Sasuke muttered. Of course, he didn't believe us.

"With each other!" I exclaimed.

Sasuke and Neji shared a look, then both laughed shortly. "You've got to be joking." Sasuke said.

"That or completely idiotic." Neji added.

I narrowed my eyes and marched over to Sasuke, grabbing his shoulders roughly and steering him around to face them. "_Look at them_." I demanded, then glanced at everyone else. "All of you!"

Everyone rolled their eyes and looked at them for a bit reluctantly. They looked bored at first, but then they started to look interested, and then suddenly a bit unsure. And finally Ino screamed, "OH MY GOD, NARUTO-KUN'S IN LOVE WITH HINATA-CHAN!"

"I can't believe it, it's fucking _true_! Holy shit, since _when_?!" Temari cried.

I smirked. "It's true, girls are quicker than boys."

"No, Sakura, girls just know love when they see it." TenTen corrected me happily.

"They're in love! How youthful! They're youthful love burns with such a beautiful passion, I can see it glowing around them!" Lee started a rant about youth and love and passion and some other creepy stuff.

"I already knew." Shikamaru muttered, annoyed.

"Okay, maybe it's not _just_ girls…" TenTen muttered.

I turned to look at Sasuke, Neji, and Kiba. It was silent, and finally Kiba let out short laugh. "Huh…What do ya know, Naruto really is in love. Looks like it…" he said, smirking a bit.

TenTen and I turned expectantly to Sasuke and Neji now, but neither of them said anything, just stared after Naruto and Hinata, who were walking along the shores of the beach in the distance, laughing and talking. Finally Sasuke groaned and turned away, and I let go of his shoulders so he could walk slowly over to Neji.

"…Why didn't the dobe tell me? _Me_…?" he asked finally, his voice carrying out.

Neji shook his head slowly. "The ass…He never even gave any _hints_ of it…He's never even liked a girl before, he's only thought about the hott ones…I'm gonna kill him… "

"Well he's changed quite a lot. Hinata's not _hott_, more like _cute_ or _pretty_." Temari said conversationally, chewing on her bottom lip as she stared after the two, currently being watched like a television sitcom and somehow not noticing. "But it's okay, I think he deserves to change. He deserves someone nice like her."

"I hope you know this is _our_ Hina-chan you're talking about." TenTen said, her voice lowering darkly.

Ino glanced at TenTen and smiled. "Aww, and you know that this is _our_ Naruto-kun we're talking about as well?"

"…Touché…" TenTen muttered.

"Well TenTen has a point. What if we don't think Naruto's good enough for her…?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.

"What are you talking about, of course he is." Sasuke said, looking confused.

"Not if we don't say he isn't!" I declared. "We want Hina to be happy. And if we find out Naruto is hurting her in any way, which makes her _un_happy…" I took the pen in my hands, which I had been using to scribble in the notebook, and snapped it with one hand. "You know what will happen…" I said threateningly.

"Well, we know what you'll do, Sakura, but what about TenTen-chan?" Ino asked, not fazed in the slightest.

I smirked. "Oh, TenTen? Seriously, you don't want to _know_." TenTen nodded, her face still dark and menacing.

Neji let loose a rare laugh and shook his head. "Naruto isn't going to hurt anyone, especially not my cousin. I promise, there's nothing to worry about."

"Alright…But remember that we're keeping an eye on him, don't let him get too cocky." I said, throwing the two halves of my now uselessly destroyed pen at TenTen, who chucked them easily into the nearest trash can without a word, still keeping her eyes trained on Hinata and Naruto.

Temari. "You two are two overprotective. Really, what did she ever do for you to make you so-?"

"We told you, Hinata saved us." TenTen interrupted Temari suddenly.

Everyone was silent. It was a sort of confused yet understanding silence at the same time, and an expectant one. Waiting for a story. After knowing us for only such a short time, and yet spending so much time with us, they knew something was coming. So I gave them what they wanted.

"She found us when no one else wanted to." I said softly. "She said the words we wanted to hear, above all else. It's almost like TenTen brought us together by coincidence, I glued us together by force, and Hinata keeps us together today." I laughed at my own logic quietly.

TenTen nodded slowly. "She taught us."

"Lessons…" Ino said softly under her breath.

"I guess, just…" TenTen looked out to the sunset. "…how to live…"

**X**X**X**X**X**

"Well this has sure been a strange Saturday…" Ino said to herself as she walked along the edge of the beach. The others were already in the car, waiting for her as she got back from the bathroom. She was brooding at the moment, the fact that Temari had to drive back, but she decided she'd suck it up.

She had taken her hair down, since it was wet, and she was now twisting the long, glossy blonde tendrils in her hands. It was wet since she had recently been pushed into the water casually by TenTen, who Ino had, in return dragged in, resulting in the girls standing and splashing each other recklessly till Neji pointed out this wasn't a good idea when TenTen was wearing white, causing both him and TenTen to blush a bit as TenTen darted out of the water as quickly as possible, crossing her arms in front of her chest in embarrassment.

Ino laughed to herself at the memory, tilting her face back to the moon, which was just starting to peek out between the clouds in the darkening sky. She kept her face upwards as she dragged her feet through the sand, her Alice-blue eyes peering upwards towards the stars.

"Happy, Ino Yamanaka?"

Ino jumped and spun around at the menacingly familiar voice, then gasped in horror at the sight of Sai and dropped her hair. There he stood, dressed in a black trench coat and jeans tucked into black combat boots, pale lips smiling innocently in her direction. The first word that came to Ino's mind was, '_Attractive…_' but she knew this wasn't the time to be fantasizing about what she couldn't have.

Unable to move because of the shock and awe the small teenager handled, she stayed rooted to the spot warily as Sai made his way slowly to her, took her hand in his, and bowed. He arched his neck to look up at her with a small smirk. "Hello, gorgeous." he said politely and quietly before kissing her knuckles.

The shocking contact knocked Ino back to her senses, and she snatched her hand away from under his lips, cradling it to her chest protectively. "Wh-What do you want?! What are you here for?!" she demanded, fingering her skirt with her other hand discreetly.

"Business, of course." Sai said, straightening and looking at her with a simple smile sitting once again on his face. "Here, just so you're comfortable…" He took off his trench coat, revealing a tight black shirt that hugged his muscular body and showed off his hard stomach. He lay the garment in the sand, then backed away, holding his hands lazily palm-up to her and taking one step back. "Your turn."

Ino watched him suspiciously, recognizing the sign of temporary truce. She wondered why he had pulled such a stunt, but she supposed she'd have to ask him after she returned the favor. She pulled her skirt up her thigh and slipped out the long skinny knife she had hidden by a sort of garter hidden beneath her clothes, then set it down in front of her and raised her hands as well.

"Tell me what you want. And if you try anything towards my leaders, I-I won't hesitate to kill you." she said slowly, eyes narrowed and stuck to him, but her voice shaking ever-so-slightly; revealing that he was her one weakness…

He lowered his hands, and she did the same. "Please. You think that I have time to kill Uchiha and Hyuuga, no matter how much I'd love to? No, I'm here for someone else." Ino bit her lip, and Sai continued. "I hate your team, Ino." he said simply, as if striking a conversation with a good friend. "I really hate it a lot. But that doesn't mean I have to hate you."

"What are you getting at…?" she asked suspiciously, taking steps backwards all the time.

His eyes bore straight into hers. "I think you know what I mean." He advanced casually towards her just a bit.

She swallowed hard. "No I don't…" she whispered the lie, her throat tightening.

His lips curved in a frown. "You'd be treated better in my team, Ino." he said quietly, his voice, however, never losing confidence. "You'd also be protected, and paid generously with your choosing."

"I don't take bribes." she declared as bravely as possible. It wasn't working.

"I heard you and Temari were bribed into Uchiha's team in the first place. Is that true?"

"N-No…"

"Mhm…Really? I heard you were bribed with cars. Automobiles."

Ino shook her head rapidly. But she couldn't deny the truth, and she knew Sai wasn't convinced by his knowing smirk. "I…It's more than that…I love them now. I love my team. I'm not just staying for the enjoyment, I care about them."

"And yet here you stand now, unable to protect one of your members…"

Ino's eyes widened. "Wh…What…?!" She stared at Sai, open-mouthed. "What…_What did you do_?!"

"Oh, did I really imply something that obviously?"

"Tell me what you did! What are you planning?!"

"Nothing of your concern, and if you're smart, you'll keep it that way." he said, shrugging slowly.

Ino stared desperately at him, then she suddenly turned on her heel and ran, hair flying behind her, kicking up sand behind her. "Meet me at the park two weeks from now, Ino, if you really want to protect them!" Sai called after her loudly, a touch of amusement in his voice.

Ino closed her eyes tightly and clapped her hands over her ears as she ran blindly, trying as hard as she could to block him out. But it was no use. Not only could she still hear him, but his face swam in front of her vision…

**X**X**X**X**X**

woooooooooo, drama much? XD  
Re-Read and Edited while listening to: _Everyhome_ by _Chihiro Onitsuka_ :D  
Like it? Love it? Hate it? Dislike it? Don't care about it? Review it! ;)  
Shoot for the stars: I've given up…um…390? keep up with me here, people! XD  
thanks for reading!  
xmarachanx


	12. A Little Party

Hey guys!  
OK, chapter full of action, coming your way! Ah, I love my cute little puppies…I'm using them as slippers at the moment, one of them is sitting on my feet, which are cold, and warming them up for me, and he's just the _cutest_ little thing! :3  
LOL, thanks so much to:  
ZomG, SMOKe13, Pnkrockninja101, MidniteCurse4Eternity, Sunny Soul, .xXx.hikari.midnight.xXx., kickass.chick91, Tilders, Hikoru, Aniki, Shikyo no Amatsu Shinsei, Kick -Assing -Kunoichi, minimuffin-on-acid, kkbug33, mangamaniacgurl, xXxKimakoxXx, kimiko77, DarkAnimeAngel13, ShinobiXAngel, Hina-chan20, XxkIkIrOxX, o.O, Teera-chan, WahineDancer, Kyra-Mitsu, anthropomorphichybrid, waterdragonrai, Uchiha, Nami, ShikallllTema, Daisy Valentine, Shenhui, Jackie, ayame81131, 0o0InoChan0o0, HisEyesMyName-AmBeR159, Dreaming101  
Enjoy!

**X**X**X**X**X**

**H**e**a**r **N**o **E**v**i**l  
_See no evil. Speak no evil._

**D**i**s**c**l**a**i**m**e**r: Oh emm eff gee, I don't own Naruto. :)  
**S**o**n**g: _She's a Rebel_ by _Greenday_ :)

**C**h. **T**w**e**l**v**e - A Little Party

_Is she trouble  
Like I'm trouble  
Make it a double  
Twist of fate  
Or a melody_

**T**e**n**T**e**n

"Ino, what's wrong…?" Temari asked as Ino clambered into the trunk. "You were gone in the bathroom for a while…sure you're not sick or something?"

Ino finally got into the trunk next to Shikamaru, accidentally kicking him, and faced the back for a while. I watched her carefully, seeing the tense muscles in her back relax, then she turned to face me and I saw a big smile on her face. "No, nothing's wrong! I just felt kind of queasy."

"Okay, okay, too much information." Sakura said, making everyone laugh.

Ino giggled happily. "Kay, let's go to the park! We can have an ice cream break!" she cheered. Temari nodded, grinning, and started the car, backing out of the parking lot.

I was the only one that didn't laugh. '_I don't know if I'm the only one that's noticed, but Ino seems kind of fake…_'

I shared a look with Temari through the rear-view mirror, and I nodded, understanding. '_No, I'm not the only one…Temari and I will have to keep an eye on her…_'

The ride to the park was short, and filled with more fun conversations, and by the time we got to the park Ino seemed back to normal, and my worries were completely forgotten. "Look, an ice-cream stand!" Ino screeched as soon as Temari squealed to a halt, squeezing Shikamaru's arm tightly.

"Oww! Troublesome brat!"

"Hey, hey, Ino-pig, don't break my boyfriend."

"Okay, okay! Cool your jets, yarn-head."

"_Excuse me_?!"

"Troublesome bitches…"

"_WHAT DID YOU CALL US_?!" Temari and Ino screamed at Shikamaru, who blinked in surprise.

"I think TenTen and Sakura have rubbed off on you two…" he muttered, rolling his eyes. "Temari, pop the trunk."

Grumbling, Temari obeyed and Sakura and exchanged a glance then laughed as we all got out of the car.

"I call chocolate." I said, grinning.

"Vanilla." Hinata added, winking at me.

Sakura opened her, mouth, but Sasuke interrupted her. "Let me guess. Strawberry."

"Of course." Hinata and I said at the same time, giggling as Sakura fumed.

"…No!"

"It's strawberry." Sasuke said simply.

"…Shut up!"

I felt satisfaction at Sakura's red, flushed face, then turned to the others. "Okay, then, let me guess! Neji, you like vanilla."

"…How did you-"

"I knew it!" I winked at him, and he raised an eyebrow as I turned to Naruto next to him. "And Naruto, you like…um…chocolate?"

"Wrong! Try again."

"Er…Strawberry?"

"Yeah! Try teme now!"

"Okay, okay…Sasuke, you like…umm…Vanilla?"

"Nope."

"Strawberry…?"

"Sick…"

"You like…um-"

"Chocolate." Sakura said suddenly. Sasuke blinked in surprise and nodded, and she grinned wickedly. "Revenge is sweet."

"It's not that big of a deal, Sakura…"

"Okay, so that means two chocolate, two Vanilla, and six Strawberry, because me, Kiba-kun, Lee-kun, Tema-chan, and Shika-kun all like Strawberry but Tema and Shika like to share cause they're sex fiends!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Temari said, rolling her eyes as Shikamaru snorted and sat on the hood of the car and she sat on his lap. "Go get em, Ino."

"Right!" Ino sped off to order our ice creams, and Hinata, Sakura and I all widened our eyes.

"She has enough money to pay for all of us?" Sakura asked hesitantly.

"She doesn't need to pay." Temari said.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked. Hinata and I nodded, confused.

Temari gave us a look, then she, Kiba, and Naruto all burst out laughing as Sasuke and Neji slapped their hands to their foreheads and Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "You guys are so innocent! It's adorable, yeah, but it's so funny!" Temari shrieked between peals of laughter.

"Guys, cut it out…" Sasuke muttered darkly.

"Before I make you." Neji added in a monotone.

I was starting understand what they were getting at and blushed a little. '_These people are kind of sick sometimes…_' I thought, glancing at Ino, who was fluttering her eyes seductively, fingering with the collar of the shirt of the man that was running the ice-cream stand and slipping a small folded piece of paper into the back pocket of his pants. Probably her telephone number. He looked to be in his twenties or thirties, with a wiry frame and kind of small and geeky looking. '_She chooses the weak ones…_' I couldn't help but think.

"Ino's…um…kind of-"

"She's not as bad as the other girls at the school, Sakura." Temari interrupted her. "Trust me."

Sakura said nothing, and we watched as she winked at the ice cream man before taking our orders, then walking away, remembering to swing her hips side to side and smile slyly over her shoulder at the man, as if they shared a very important secret. I resisted the urge to cough and eyed her.

She winked at me, Sakura, and Hinata. "If you've got it, flaunt it, right?"

"Um, not rea-"

"Haha, _sure_!" Sakura said loudly, slapping a hand over my mouth. I narrowed my eyes at her over her hand still clamped on my mouth, and she gave me a meaningful look.

Ino just shrugged and handed us each an ice cream. I noticed Neji watching me and decided to ignore him and lick my ice cream contentedly, meanwhile keeping an eye on Ino. '_I don't like sluts like that around Sakura and Hinata. I really don't like it…_'

"Yummy!" Ino and Sakura cried at the same time, and I couldn't help but laugh. Ino was so slutty and so innocent at the same time. How the _hell_ could she pull that off?! Maybe it wasn't so bad, I mean, she was so _cute_!

"So, you guys are sleeping over again tonight, right?" said girl asked happily.

"Mmm, I guess so." I said, voice muffled by my ice cream. I swallowed. "I'm okay with it, but I guess I need the permission of my sweet doting mother first."

Sakura blinked at me. "I hope you're not implying-"

"Of _course_ not, Sakura dearest! I would _never_ call you a stick-up-the-ass old tramp, I wouldn't even _think_ about it! Only because you'd smash my head in with a pole - proving that you are one - at the mere thought of it, wouldn't you?"

"TenTen, I am giving you five seconds to run."

"…A head start for once…?"

"Take it or leave it."

"Right…_See ya_!"

"_You'd better run fast, Panda_!"

**x**x**x**x**x**

"You know how out of breath I am right now?" I panted as I collapsed on the sofa in the living room of the house, the first one in as everyone else came in behind me. Lee and Kiba had been dropped off at the gas station again. Kiba said he was going home to take care of his mother and sister, and Lee said he had been tipped to meet someone at a restaurant not far from his own house.

"Not only did you have a long day but you also got chased up a tree." Sakura muttered, fuming as she sat next to me, obviously trying very hard not to strangle me.

"Yeah, by _you_. I _know_ what it's like to get hit by you, and I am _not_ going back to that again."

"You could try not insulting her, then, TenTen." Hinata said, sitting on my other side.

"But then life would be no fun, you know?"

"Yeah, we should start betting on you and Sakura too TenTen!" Temari said, grinning as she entered the room with Shikamaru. "You're so unpredictable it'd be hard to guess!"

"Great, now thanks to TenTen we're the source of a new gamble." Sakura growled.

"Better than nothing."

**x**x**x**x**x**

I woke up to a loud, shrill beeping sound the next morning. And this time it wasn't me that was confused as I sat up and rubbed my eyes into wakefulness, but Sakura, who mumbled into my shoulder, "TenTen, why does our alarm clock sound different…?"

"Because you've been abducted by aliens. That's the sound of their spaceship." I said, rolling my eyes as everyone else woke up as well.

She hit me with a pillow and sat up, Hinata sitting as well, both of them immediately fixing their hair. I took mine out of its pair of frizzy buns and looked around for the source of the sound as I ran my fingers through my hair. I saw Sasuke and Naruto, both asleep at the foot of Sasuke's armchair, Neji's feet resting on top of them as he lounged on his own arm chair, sitting up straight and yawning, kicking Sasuke and Naruto into wakefulness and making me laugh. The beeping stopped as everyone sat up and looked around groggily, but then it started again, and Sasuke jumped.

"Whoops." He pulled out his phone, and Sakura muttered something that sounded like, "Idiot." under her breath as Sasuke put it on speaker.

"What's up, Kiba?" he greeted.

"SASUKE, SOMETHING'S HAPPENED! IT'S LEE! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT, IT'S FUCKING TERRIBLE! I DON'T KNOW WHY THIS HAPPENED, I DON'T!" Everyone in the room winced. It was even worse than Tsunade!

"Okay, okay, calm down! Tell me what happened!" Sasuke yelled over Kiba's continuous screeches.

"Well, at least everyone's awake." Temari muttered darkly, kissing Shikamaru on the forehead, who brought her lips down to his own. I resisted the urge to gag. Who the hell makes out this early in the morning…?

When Kiba kept yelling through the phone, proving he was too hysterical to stop, Sasuke threw the phone angrily at Neji, who caught it, giving a glare to Sasuke, before looking down at it in his lap. "You're the only one who can deal with people like this, Hyuuga." Sasuke said. Neji rolled his eyes.

"Alright, Inuzuka, this is Neji. Calm down, stop yelling, and breath." he said in a calm voice. Kiba obeyed, we could hear him taking deep, filling breaths. Neji sighed in relief. "Alright. Now tell us _calmly and slowly_ what happened." Kiba whispered something inaudible through the phone. Neji raised an eyebrow and held the phone closer. "Say it again a little louder."

"THEY FOUND IT! THEY FOUND LEE'S FUCKING STASH!"

Everyone except me, Sakura, and Hinata gasped. "You don't' mean…" Neji said, staring at the phone, his eyebrows raising.

"YES! SAI SOMEHOW GOT INTO HIS HOUSE AND GRABBED IT OUT OF THE SINK!"

"Shit!" Sasuke jumped to his feet. "Kiba, how did you figure this out?!"

"Kankerou's technical support found Lee with a tracking device and called him on his cell phone…He's completely dished, man…"

"…Oh hell…" Neji muttered, standing as well. "Uchiha, you still remember when you sent me after him when he was on one of those rages?"

"Sasuke, Neji barely got back alive!" Naruto yelled.

"I know, I know!" Sasuke said, frustrated.

"…Uchiha, you're not making me go after him again, are you…?" Neji asked warily.

"No, we're _all _going. He's too dangerous for one person to handle alone." Sasuke said thoughtfully. "Kiba, where is he now?"

"Kankerou said he's heading to the school right now."

"Th-…The _school_?! Why the hell-oh, of course! They're targeting…! Shit, shit, shit! This hasn't happened before, what the hell are they thinking?!" Sasuke cried.

"It's not just Lee that's targeting them! Kankerou told me that he thinks they're main resort was to find out where the weapons room is in the school."

"What weapons room?" I asked, but Neji held up a hand saying, "Shush." gently under his breath. Sasuke glanced at me.

"We'll tell you three what's going on later. Kiba, is Kankerou taking action?"

"No, he says too many of his fighters are injured from a past raid, he told me to tell you guys to take action instead."

"Damn it…This early in the morning, too…Of course Sai's gang would like to catch us off-guard, damn bastards…!" Sasuke hissed. "Kiba, tell Kankerou we're leaving right away. Neji, TenTen, get ready. Ino you're driving, Naruto, you're covering me. Shikamaru, Temari, cover Hinata and Sakura, stay in the house and don't leave under any circumstances, we're under lock-down. Sakura, get ready to heal a shit-load of people, got it? Hinata, do what Sakura says. Everyone move, _now_! We're leaving in two minutes!"

Hinata, Sakura and I exchanged surprised glances as everyone jumped to their feet and ran about, grabbing guns and weapons out of the most unlikely of places. I opened my mouth to say something to Sakura and Hinata, but Neji grabbed me and hoisted me to my feet roughly. "Hurry up, TenTen." he said, letting go of me and running off after Naruto and Sasuke into their bedroom.

I blinked and sighed, then nodded and ran to my school bag on the floor beneath the coffee table, pulling out my revolver and sticking it in the pocket of my black jean capris and my cell phone, doing the same. I felt awful wearing the same cloths as the day before, but it was obvious none of us had time to do anything like change or shower. I was fine, though, so I pulled my hair bands off my wrists and quickly twisted my hair tightly into the usual two buns. "Call me if you need anything." I said to my friends. Sakura and Hinata seemed to understand and ran off to the healing room.

"Ready to go, everyone?! Let's move!" Sasuke yelled, coming out of the bedroom and walking briskly towards the door. Ino and Naruto dashed out the door behind him. I stared after them. "They're so fast, why-"

"TenTen, I told you to hurry!"

Neji was suddenly pushing me out the door. I stumbled like a little child but he kept pushing me out and wouldn't let me go till we got to the car, where he got inside first then yanked me in and slammed the door behind me. Ino sped away the minute I got inside, and soon we were speeding down the road towards the school.

"Geeze, you're some quick-ass people, aren't you?"

"TenTen, if people are in danger we can't afford to waste any time." Neji said quietly.

"Mhm! Ne, TenTen, get me some jeans, kay?" I heard some nervousness in Ino's voice that I couldn't quite place, that she didn't have before when we were facing Sai's team. I tried to ignore it and grabbed some jeans from the trunk, and all the boys turned away as she drove with her knees, slipping jeans on easily. I shook my head, still unable to understand how she could do that.

"We're here, Ino, don't run us into a tree, please."

"What? Oh, oka-" Ino didn't get to finish her sentence because there was a loud bang and Ino screamed and swerved the car and parked. Bullets were suddenly flying our way. "No! If they get a bullet-hole in my car, I'll-!"

"You won't do _anything_, stay in the car with Naruto andboth of you _don't move from the car at all_, understand?! We've got a lot on our hands! TenTen, Neji, you'll both come with me. Neji, this is TenTen's second time, so let her kick some ass, got it?"

"Uchiha-"

"Neji, I can do it." I said, smiling widely at him. He stared at me for a bit before frowning and turning away from me. But he said nothing, and I felt adrenaline start to pump through my veins. This was it. I was really going to fight this one out.

"Alright. You two ready?" We both nodded, and Sasuke crouched in front of the door, holding the handle. "Our goal here is to make sure they _do not_ get into the weapons room. TenTen, that's a room in the second story where we keep all our homemade bombs. The teachers don't know about it cause that part of the second story is the part where construction's supposed to be done. I think they gave up on the construction though, so that room's the safest to keep them…Of course, not anymore…"

"What'll they do if they find the bombs?"

"I don't know, but I don't want to find out." Sasuke said darkly. "Alright…Let's go!"

I felt Neji suddenly grab my hand and glared at his back as he opened the door of the car and pulled me out behind him. Even when his gang leader said so, he wouldn't leave me alone! Didn't he know I could hold my own?!

"TenTen, stop staring at Neji's ass and keep your eyes up!"

I blushed bright red as Neji gave me a look. "You jerk! I'm not staring at his ass!"

"No, you're not. You're glaring at my back."

"Only because you won't-!"

BAM!

"Wha!" I screamed and dodged a bullet, throwing Neji's hand away from me and jumping to the side. I stared in shock at where the bullet had come from, five boys coming right at us. "Whoa…Did I just _dodge_ that…?" I asked, eyes wide.

"Yes you did, now move, god damn it, you don't want to have to dodge four more!" Neji shouted, grabbing me again and pulling me after Sasuke, who hadn't bothered waiting for us. I swallowed hard.

"N-Neji, how did I do that?! I've never been that fast before, I-I-!"

"TenTen, when you're fighting you're going to find a lot about yourself that you didn't know. Just use it to your advantage, there's nothing wrong with it. It's just adrenaline." Neji said. I stared at him as he ran, long hair - which I just noticed, with a burst of my heart, was completely loose - flying behind him, holding tightly to my hand, his experienced eyes trained to Sasuke's back. I could only see him right now, I could only hear our sharp breaths, I could only feel his callused, sweaty palm pressed against mine, his strong fingers squeezing the back of my hands reassuringly as we flew inside the school, speeding along the linoleum.

Then the feeling was gone when I heard a loud yell from Sasuke as he slammed into the linoleum floor. I groaned. "What is he doing?!" I yelled, back to normal…but still feeling strange.

Neji dragged me over to Sasuke and we skidded to halt, me almost falling, in front of a long, white piece of yarn stretched as tight as a guitar string across the hall. Sasuke groaned and rolled over on the floor, sitting up and lifting his shirt to see a long, thin line of shining red. Blood, from where the string had cut him. I winced.

"They got you, Uchiha…" Neji muttered.

"They're expecting us." Sasuke growled, accepting Neji's hand for help up and standing. "Let's keep going, but be careful. I should have known there would be traps. The more time it takes for us to keep up with them the more time they have to get what they need, and that'll be the end of us."

I bit my lip and nodded. I let Neji hold my hand still but I didn't let him help me over the string, giving him a glare that said, 'I'm not _completely _girly.' He seemed to understand.

We kept going, running through the halls and halfway up the stairs. Neji seemed to have the best eyes, I gathered, since he spotted three more traps. One of them was a smoke bomb that would go off if you stepped on it, which I almost did if Neji didn't yell at me to stop. Another was a couple tacks lying tail-up on the ground, sparkling like diamonds, where Neji had to direct me where to step to avoid them since I couldn't see all of them, they were so tiny. And the other was a bucket of ice water that probably would have gotten me and really slowed us down if Neji didn't pull me out of the way just in time.

By the time we got upstairs, I was, to be frank, _pissed off_. Neji kept having to save my ass, and I really did _not_ like it. I had just told him that I could handle myself, but it looked like I couldn't after all, and I just really hated that.

But I was sure I _could_ do my best when I was actually fighting, and I couldn't wait to show him that.

And then I saw a flash of green from behind me, aimed at Neji, and my eyes widened.

"Neji, move!"

"Wha-_Ahck_!"

**H**i**n**a**t**a

"_What was that_?"

The one question Sakura uttered started it all…

"Sakura?" I asked.

"I heard something!" she hissed. We were in the healing room, the one ceiling light warming the room with a dim gold as we cleaned and got things ready. Temari and Shikamaru had locked all the doors and windows and turned off all the lights except this one. They explained to us what the weapons room in the school was, then told us that we had to stay there and keep watch for the house since other gangs might sneak in and burn the house down if we weren't there to protect it. Apparently gangs had pyromaniac tenancies.

I finished setting the sheets down on the bed and turned to her curiously. "What did it sound like?" I asked, tilting my head to the side.

"Like…like someone's coming in…" she admitted, glancing around.

I stared at her for a while, then sighed. Sakura had a tendency herself, to be infantile when it came to fear. Paranoid. "Sakura, are you sure you're not over-"

"I swear, Hinata, I heard something!" she insisted desperately. "I don't like this, I've got a bad feeling. Maybe we should ask Temari and Shikamaru."

I shrugged. "I will. You can stay in here and keep watch."

"Hinata, I'm not letting you go alone, what if-!"

"Sakura, stay here. It's no use if you're in trouble as well, even though I'm positive nothing's wrong. I'll go check up with Temari and Shikamaru. Turn off the lights so no one can tell we're in here, and I'll be right back."

"…O-Okay…I guess…" Sakura muttered, sitting, defeated, on the edge of the bed. I smiled at her and left the room, walking down the hall to the living room.

"Temari, Shikamaru."

The two looked up at me. They were sitting on the sofa, a gun in each of their laps, Shikamaru's arm around Temari's shoulders. Temari smiled warmly at me. "What's up, Hina-chan?"

"Sakura thinks she heard something, like someone breaking in. She's really paranoid. Ano, do you think…?"

Temari looked at me, then laughed. "Yeah, we'll check it out for you guys, sure. Shikamaru, get up."

"Yeah, yeah…troublesome."

"Oh take it like a man, lazy-ass. Let's check the whole perimeter of the house just to be safe." The two bickered all the way out the door, and I heard them lock the door behind them as they left.

I sat on the sofa, breathing out of my mouth. I could understand now why Sakura felt so scared as I glanced around the empty room. It was frightening, being here alone, knowing you could be in danger at any moment. Other gangs could come any second and…

I stood suddenly and walked to the door, opening it and sticking my head out. "Temari, Shikamaru?" No one answered. I felt my eyes widen. "Temari, Shikamaru!" I called a little louder. Still no answer. I gulped and closed the door, locking it behind me and pressing my back against it, ducking my head and closing my eyes, trying to calm myself.

'_It's alright. They said they were checking the perimeter of the house, they're probably out of ear-shot at the moment, that's all._'

I unlocked the door for them and walked back to the healing room, entering, and I stared in shock.

"…S…_SAKURA?!_"

"What?!"

"AH!" I screamed out loud when she came from behind me, looking concerned, and I collapsed into a sitting position on the edge of the bed. "S-Sakura chan! G-Gomen, you scared me! I thought you weren't in here, and then-!"

Sakura laughed. "It's okay. So did Shikamaru and Temari say anything?"

I nodded. "They're looking around the house right now. All the doors and windows are locked and the lights are off, I don't think there's anything to worry about."

She smiled weakly. "Okay…" She sat next to me. "Let's just wait for them to come back with news, then."

"Alright."

I looked around the room. There was a bad feeling in the place, and I knew Sakura felt it as well. Things weren't right. It was chilling, I felt my arms start to shiver and rubbed them up and down. Sakura noticed and put an arm around me in a reassuring hug. We didn't say anything, just waited.

Finally, Sakura let go of me and stood up, narrowing her eyes. "Hinata…" she said quietly. "It's been too long for them to have walked around the house, even twice. What's going on?

"I-I don't know." I whispered, standing as well. Then I tapped her on the shoulder and gave her a meaningful look when she turned to me. "Don't you feel it too…?"

"…Yeah…" she said, nodding, looking scared for the first time in a while. "I don't like it at all…I wanna get out of here…" her voice started rising a bit in panic, and I bit my lip.

"I-It's alright, let's…let's just calm down and think rationally. No one's in here. I'm sure there's no one in…in…in…"

My chest started clenching in horror, my mind started spinning, my throat closed, adrenaline pounded through my veins, and I managed to choke out a muffled scream. Sakura's eyes widened, and she spun around, the let out a scream of her own.

There, pressed to the window of the door of the healing room, was the grinning, maniacal faces, distorted by the glass, of two girls.

**T**e**n**T**e**n

"Neji!" I yelled, concerned, as he fell to the ground.

"I'm fine." he said, wiping blood from his face angrily. "Get away from Lee, TenTen!" Sasuke ran over to help him up, and then my vision was blocked by the green-clad boy, towering on the steps, back to me.

"Lee, why did you do that?!" Lee turned to me slowly, and his face was different. It was flushed and bright red, shining with saliva and tears and snot, just like his clothing, covered in it. "Wh…What the hell…?" I whispered, staring at him in horror.

He grinned crookedly, a grin not like the usual, light-hearted smile he usually wore. His eyes had lost their sparkle, their shine, that they usually held, and when he suddenly spoke, the laughter was gone from his slurred voice. "_TenTen-chyaaaan_!" He snorted a bit, stumbled down the steps towards me. "Come ere! Come to Lee!"

"Wh…What happened to you?!" I asked, scared. I couldn't move. I was paralyzed as he staggered towards me, too confused to do anything.

And then Neji came up behind him and used his arm to lock Lee's head to him, holding his arms behind his body with his other hand. Sasuke walked over and started rummaging around in his sweatshirt pocket, bringing out a bottle. "Lee's been given Sake."

"…S-So? I drink it sometimes, it doesn't make you-"

"No. This is Lee's problem." Neji said from behind Lee, voice wavering as Lee struggled in Neji's grip. "Just a tiny droplet of Sake sends him over the edge. Totally wasted."

"It…does…?"

"Yes. And somehow, Sai's team snuck into Lee's house and got his special bottle of Sake that he only uses for emergency situations in fights, so he can fight at incredible power. It's his secret weapon, and Sai's team knows. I believe now, he's had almost half a bottle. They used him to make him so out of it that he told them where the weapons room is, which was what they were aiming for. And it's hard for us, because we can't do anything to injure him because we're so close."

"W…Whoa…" I whispered, staring as Lee gave Neji quite a fight. "How do we stop him…?"

"The only way is to knock him out. Using this." Sasuke said, and suddenly he grabbed Lee's head, twisted it sharply up, and forced him to chug the bottle that he had gotten out of his pocket down. "A special poison that one of Gaara's gang members created to knock people out for hours. He'll be gone for a day or so with this."

Lee continued downing the potion, then suddenly, Neji let him go. Lee kept grinning. "TenTen-ch-chan! Give me…a…hug…" suddenly he dropped to the ground.

I stared at him, mouth wide open. "O…kay…?"

"Yeah, don't say anything…"

**S**a**k**u**r**a

The girls in the window of the door laughed, so loud we could hear it in the room, at our horrified faces, and opened the door quickly, stepping inside and closing it behind them. There were four of them in all, now, and they crowded into the small room. I could smell smoke off of their short, tight, revealing clothing.

I got a hold of myself and grabbed Hinata's hand, then pushed her back, pressing her into the corner of the room, and snatched an emergency gun from the bedside table, fumbling around with it and standing in front of Hinata as bravely as I could, holding the gun up to them with a shaking hand. I tried to be brave, like Sasuke had been earlier, giving orders, getting people into action. I wished I could have known what _he_ was like in action. Maybe I could have fought like him. But for then, all I could do was imitate his stern expression, his eyes, his frown…

However, it was no use.

They just laughed. "Ah-haha! _Aww_, look at _this_, girls! This cute little pink princess here has a _gun_! Isn't she _special_?!"

"Haha, yup! Oh, but look at _this_!" Suddenly every single one of them pulled out their own guns. They were all more expensive, larger, and newer…and two for each girl… "We'vegot even more…" the leading girl said quietly, seductively. Her hair was red, and her eyes were covered in thick black glasses.

More wild laughter came from another girl behind her. It was Ami, from before. "It seems so, Karin!"

They walked forward, their faces looming in on us, finally getting so close I could barely breath, the two girls behind them there as well, squeezing in on us. Ami leaned down, the tip of her nose touching mine, eyes gazing into my own huge, terrified ones. I could feel Hinata's hand squeeze mine behind me, shaking and sweaty. Karin did the same and laughed softly, her stale breath hitting my face, hot and sick-smelling.

"Isn't this just the little party…?" she whispered menacingly.

**X**X**X**X**X**

Yes, it is, Karin-chan. X3 LOL, I'm excited, is anyone else excited, because I am EXCITED for the next chapter! XDDDD sorry, waaaaaaaaaay too much sugar. ;)  
Re-read & Edited while listening to: _Through the Fire and Flames_ by _DragonForce_. XD  
Reviews! Shoot for the stars: uhhhhhhhhhhhh…430! :D  
thanks for reading!  
xmarachanx


	13. Five Minutes

Hello everyone!  
Big hugs to: Merciless Ruby, Pnkrockninja101, DarkAnimeAngel13, ShinobiXAngel, kickass.chick91, MidniteCurse4Eternity, SMOKe13, Tilders, .xXx.hikari.midnight.xXx., GooooodPie, xxhikari E, Chigiri Sasaki, WahineDancer, mangamaniacgurl, Hina-chan20, Jackie, minimuffin-on-acid, Uchiha, Nami, Kyra-Mitsu, XxkIkIrOxX, anthropomorphichybrid, naruto.luv.llamas, siny, ChickenBuck, Hikoru, Aniki, kimiko77, Teera-Chan, xXxKimakoxXx, Nerd4eva, ZomG, waterdragonrai, Kick -Assing -Kunoichi, Dreaming101, Daisy Valentine, totalnarutofangirl85, Shenhui  
Enjoy!

**X**X**X**X**X**

**H**e**a**r **N**o **E**v**i**l  
_See no evil. Speak no evil._

**D**i**s**c**l**a**i**m**e**r: Oh emm eff gee, I don't own Naruto. :)  
**S**o**n**g: _She's a Rebel_ by _Greenday_ :)

**C**h. **T**h**i**r**t**e**e**n - Five Minutes

_She sings the revolution  
The dawning of our lives  
She brings this liberation  
That I just can't define  
Nothing comes to mind_

**T**e**n**T**e**n

"You really think that'll do it, Uchiha?"

"I think so, Hyuuga. It's the only way."

"You two are the biggest idiots sometimes…" I muttered.

We were standing in the second story, staring at the locker where Lee was stuffed, a note of apology included, in a makeshift fashion, the door bulging out and dented with his body. We had run upstairs, Sasuke forcing a grumbling Neji to lug his unconscious body, then the two ran about trying to figure out where to put him. Till they figured out their _own_ way.

"What's the problem, TenTen?" Neji asked me.

"Well, one, that's hopelessly and desperately obvious, and two, he's not looking very comfortable, is he?"

"He's unconscious, he can't feel it." Sasuke said immediately, as if he was the smartest person in the world.

"Yeah, well he _will_, ever thought about that? Come on, you're gang members! Can't you do better?!" I threw up my hands exasperatedly.

"You have something better?" Sasuke challenged me.

I glared. "Uh _yeah_! Stick him in a classroom, or at least find a way to get him back to the car!"

Sasuke snapped his fingers. "Brilliant! I'll call the dobe and make him drag Lee back!"

Neji and I both slapped our foreheads and muttered, "You're the dobe…" at the same time as Sasuke whipped out his phone, grinning in satisfaction.

When Sasuke finally finished the short call, ordering Naruto to get Lee out of the numbered locker and take him to the car safely, he hung up and turned to Neji and I. "Alright, let's get going to the weapons room and prepare to defend it."

We nodded and followed him down the hall. I glanced around, taking things in. Being new in the school, I'd never been down this section before, and I noticed how classrooms and lockers were getting scarcer and scarcer as we went, some hammers and nails and other things scattered about the palling, powdered floor, which was losing tiles until soon enough it was just cement, and the ceiling was all pipes and water systems. Finally, there was one last room, and we stopped in front of it. Sasuke stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"Well, this is it."

"Now what?" I asked quietly, fingering my gun. That's when I saw a flash in the corner of the hall.

"Now we wai-"

"Look out!" I screamed, and pushed Sasuke and Neji out of the way. The bullet grazed my cheek and I cried out at the burn.

Neji and Sasuke righted themselves and Neji stared at me, shocked. "TenTen…"

"Hyuuga, TenTen, get up and _move_!" Sasuke roared, jumping to his feet and running head-long in the direction of the boy, who was also charging. I saw more guys coming from behind him. I sat still on the cold ground, counting. Five, six, seven, eight, nine…

"Nine…We're outnumbered…"

"That's never stopped us before, TenTen." Neji said softly, suddenly. I noticed he was much closer now, standing in front of me, a softer look in his eyes. "…Why did you-?" he started to ask quietly, but I interrupted him.

"I'm just returning a favor."

Neji shook his head. "You didn't need to…Never mind." I stood up slowly and watched him. Then he turned sharply "…Come on, let's back up Uchiha." He stopped. "I want to see you fight."

I stared at his back and grinned. "Okay! I'll show you what I can do!" We ran straight at the guys. Sasuke was in a fist fight with two at once, leaving me and Neji seven.

"You get four, I get three?" I offered.

"Sounds fair. Let's do this." Neji lunged at two boys, and in an instant they were knocked out. He smirked at me. "Come on, are you gonna keep up or what?"

I glared at him, then turned to one boy coming at me. I smirked. "Alright…" He aimed a punch at me which I missed easily. I slid under his legs, slammed a hand on the ground, and twisted myself around, one leg out, hitting the guy in the back of the knees so he fell to the ground. I stood again swiftly and kicked his head, knocking him out, then turned to Neji, who was struggling with one while keeping an eye on me.

"What do you think?"

"Keep it up!" he yelled, his voice breaking as the boy he was fending off tried to kick him in the stomach.

I grinned and turned to another one. I spotted a knife held, glinting, in his left hand and narrowed my eyes. '_Keep an eye on it. Don't let the knife out of your sight no matter what he throws at you._' He tried to punch me, tried to kick me. I barely dodged the punch and the kick grazed me. Then I got the full blow of a punch to the stomach, knocking the wind out of me and sending me to my knees, clutching my waist. But when he tried to stab me, trying to faze me by switching the knife to the other hand, I smirked. It was worth getting punched if you could avoid being stabbed to death.

"Hah!" I grabbed his wrist, the wrist with the knife, and pulled him to me, punching him hard in the stomach then sending him to the ground and knocking him out the same way I had my first opponent, in the head.

"Alright, next!" I cried, and I heard Neji laugh and say, "Nice!"

'_Uh oh…maybe this wasn't such a good idea…_' My next opponent, apparently, was the largest of the group. '_Can you say huge?!_' I thought, gaping up at the young man towering over me. I squeaked a small, "Hi.", and he roared in laughter.

"Haha! A little brown Panda-bear! Isn't it cute!"

I stiffened. "…What did you call me…?" I growled.

"I _said_, a little brown-!"

I cut him off by grabbing his wrist. "Say it again, _real slowly…_" I said menacingly.

"Wh…Don't you touch me, girl!"

"Oh, I'm not a girl." Suddenly, I let out a yell of fury and swung him over, flipping him and slamming him into the ground. "I'm a little brown Panda-bear, aren't I?!"

The guy was unconscious soon enough.

"TenTen, you can calm down now, I think we won." Neji said as he struck his final foe out and walked over to me, a grin on his face. I was too busy fuming to care.

"Damn bastard, thinking he can get away with Sakura-bitch's nickname…_No one_ calls me that and gets away with it!"

I heard a loud coughing and saw Sasuke walking over to us, waving gun-powder out of his face. "Well, Neji, TenTen, nice work, it looks like our mission's been accomplished. Let's get going, shall we?"

"Going home? Finally!" I gasped, wiping sweat off my brow and feeling my breathing start to dampen.

"Tired?" Neji asked as we lagged behind Sasuke, who had gotten out his cell phone and was talking to Naruto it seemed. We walked side by side, so close our arms brushed up against each others occasionally, sending goose-bumps on our skin.

"Yeah…It's almost worse than fighting with you!" I said, bewildered.

Neji laughed. "Well, that's just like the real stuff you're going to get caught up in. You were amazing, too. I'd never seen you fight like that before, really, I'm…er…" his voice trailed away, and I blinked, then smirked.

"What? You're what? Impressed? Wrong? An idiot?"

"Proud." he interrupted me suddenly, and I closed my mouth.

"…Oh…"

'_Why the hell am I blushing?! I DO NOT BLUSH! Damn it! Proud is the same thing as impressed! Why does it seem so SWEET when he says it?! Agh, probably because he was all EMBARESSED and CUTE when he did…STUPID NEJI!_'

"Um, TenTen…Why are you cracking your knuckles…?"

"No fucking reason, Sasuke…"

"…You can punch a locker if you want, TenTen."

"You can fuck yourself if you want, Sasuke!"

"Nice…TenTen, please continue."

"Shut it, Neji, or when I'm finished insulting Sasuke, you're next!"

"You do know it'd be worth it."

"You do know you're an ass!"

"Not really, but I know I _have_ one, and apparently, from what I heard from Sasuke earlier, _you do too_."

"Ah-! I was _glaring_ at your _back_!"

"For an idiotic reason."

"Why you-!"

"Neji, TenTen, stop arguing, it looks like you're gonna kill each other, and I don't wanna have to break you guys up, I think it would be quite scary."

**x**x**x**x**x**

"We're home!" I called as I ran inside. "Sakura-chan, you'd better be ready to fix Lee up, and my cheek! Hinata-chan, make me something yummy, I _deserve _it!"

There was silence as Sasuke, Neji, Naruto, and Ino entered behind me, Neji dumping Lee on a sofa carelessly. I raised an eyebrow and collapsed on the other sofa. "Hey, Sakura, Hinata?" There was still no answer.

"Ne, ne! Tema-chan, Shika-kun! Where are you, having sex?!" Ino cried. I winced. She didn't have to say it so bluntly…

There was no response, and she pouted. "Meany-bo-beanies ! They're playin' hide an' seek without us!"

"I don't think they're playing, Ino." Naruto said.

"No duh, Naruto, I think she was being _sarcastic_." I said knowingly.

Ino looked at me, confused. "No I wasn't."

I blinked. "Oh, that's right. You're Ino."

"Yup!" We both giggled and she sighed, putting her hands on her hips. "Well, where could they be?"

"I'll call em." Sasuke said, sitting on his arm chair and pulling out his phone. "Dobe, Ino, go check the backyard."

"Got it!" Naruto and Ino chanted at the same time, and they disappeared from view.

Neji sat down slowly next to me and we both watched Sasuke. "Hmm…Sakura's not answering her phone…TenTen, try Hinata. I'll try Shikamaru. Neji, you try Temari."

"Sure, but why'd you try Sakura's phone number first?" I asked as I got out my phone. Sasuke blinked and turned rigid, and Neji and I both smirked but said nothing as I dialed Hinata's phone number and waited and Neji did the same for Temari. Nothing. "She…She's not picking up." I said, confused, putting my phone back. "I wonder why…"

"I don't know, but Shikamaru's not picking up his phone either…" Sasuke muttered.

"Weird." Neji said quietly, hanging up his own.

I groaned stood up. "Sakura, Hinata!" I tried one more time.

"Sakura, Hinata!"

I blinked. "Okay…? Was that my echo, or-?"

Temari and Shikamaru suddenly burst into the room, Ino and Naruto, looking bewildered, on their heels. "SHIT!" The couple said at the same time, and they ran off into the hall, slamming a door open. I could hear a muffled gasp and a curse, and then they both came back with horrified looks on their faces. "We were too late!" Temari cried, staring at us. She saw me and bit her lip. "TenTen…! I'm so sorry, I-we…!"

I felt my eyes widen and stood slowly. "What…happened to Sakura and Hinata…?" I asked slowly, my voice lowering. Neji stiffened next to me.

Temari swallowed hard. "I'm so sorry!" she said again, weakly. "Sakura said she heard something, so Shikamaru and I told her and Hinata to stay here while we checked out the house, but we got caught by some girls. Karin's gang had the house surrounded. They snuck up behind us and knocked us out and left us there, and…well, the last thing I heard…Sakura was saying something to Hinata, they were crying…That's all I remember, I passed out…" There were tears in Temari's voice, and she put a hand to her head tentatively and removed it. She saw blood, and Shikamaru blinked and put an arm around her shoulder. Temari looked back at me and bit her lip. "TenTen…"

I felt my mouth open. "What…Sakura and Hinata are…"

"TenTen, I'm so sorry, it's all our fault, if we didn't-"

"Temari, it's not your fault." Sasuke said quietly. Everyone was silent, watching me as I stood still, unable to manage it.

Finally I whispered weakly, "…Where are they…?"

**S**a**k**u**r**a

It was dark.

The air was thick and musty, heavy with the smell of smoke and perspiration. I was lying on my side on a cold surface that felt like concrete. My eyes were open, but everything was black. There were no shadows, no reflections, nothing.

"Where am I…?" I whispered. I sat up slowly, and my head swam. I groaned and put a hand to my forehead, trying to remember what had happened. As I searched my mind and closed my eyes, everything flashed back to me sloppily.

"_What was that, I heard something!"_

"_Well isn't this the little party…?"_

"_Get them."_

"_Don't touch Hinata!"_

"_Stop it, let us go!"_

"_Temari, Shikamaru!"_

"_Let go of me!"_

"_Stop it, god damn it!"_

"_Quiet down, bitches!"_

I bit my lip and my eyes snapped open. "Hinata!" I yelled out. My anguished voice echoed back to me numerous times, showing how big the place seemed to be now, and I gulped and felt tears sting my eyes, confused and frightened, quivering…

"Sakura?"

I jumped and blinked. "H-Hinata, are you here…?"

"Yes, I'm right here, where are you?" Her voice came from the left of me.

"I-I'm here, hold on, stay still. I'm gonna try to get to you, it's too dark to see anything…" One hand out, I dragged myself along the floor until my hand hit something soft. I grasped her arm. "Hinata?!"

"Sakura!" I felt her embrace me and hugged her back. "I was so worried. I thought you were taken somewhere else!"

"Me too!" I whispered. I let her go. "Let's hold onto each other so we don't get lost in here. Do you remember what happened?"

"I only remember Karin and Ami and their two friends dragging us into their car. Shikamaru and Temari were unconscious on the side of the house, or close to it in the case of Temari. Her eyes were open and she was trying to say something to us. I'm sure they're both alright. But that's all I remember, I think they knocked us out when they got us into the car."

"Oh. I'm glad Shikamaru and Temari are alright…" I said quietly. "And it seems we're both fine as well…I don't know where we are though…"

"Karin and Ami are probably keeping us locked up somewhere. It's too big to be a basement though…our voices are echoing…"

"True…Ah, I can't believe we got kidnapped! They'll probably use us for random or something."

"I wonder what TenTen will do…"

"Oh no, I didn't think about her…" I sighed and tightened my grip on Hinata's hand. "For now, let's relax and see what's going to happen to us. I'm still a little woozy from being knocked out, I think it's best for us to just sit here and wait."

"Oh, is that what you're intending to do…?"

I stiffened, and Hinata whimpered in my ear. "Sakura, that wasn't me…"

I gulped. "Wh-Who's there…?" I asked as loudly as I could, my throat crackling in fear.

"Everyone and anyone. All that matters, however, is who _you_ two are, Sakura Haruno and Hinata Hyuuga. _We_ are going to get rid of _you_."

**T**e**n**T**e**n

"We have to take action immediately."

I glanced over at Sasuke as he walked over to Shikamaru and Temari. "Are you two ready?"

"Y-Yeah." Temari said quietly. "It doesn't hurt that bad…" She looked up at Shikamaru. "Are you bleeding too?" She patted a hand lightly around his head and checked.

"I guess I'm not." Shikamaru muttered. "Damn it, why did they have to make the woman bleed…? Troublesome bitches…"

"Alright…Shikamaru, check their cell phone connections on your laptop, and hurry."

Shikamaru nodded and crossed over to the couch, opening his laptop on the coffee table and typing a bit. I felt Neji suddenly take my arm and pull me down next to him gently. "Sit down and relax, we're gonna find them." he said quietly. I sat still, but my hands were fisted, and Neji put a hand on my shoulder hesitantly. I blinked in surprise.

'_Here he goes again, trying to comfort me…_' I thought to myself, then relaxed a bit.

As Shikamaru typed away, Ino suddenly ran into the kitchen, then came back with a pop and handed it to me with a reassuring smile. "You were great at the fight today, so you're probably tired and thirsty. And Neji-kun's right, you don't need to worry. We've gone through tons of these kinds of things, Sakura and Hinata are gonna be fine."

"Yup! I promise I'll help them, and I never go back on my word!" Naruto said with a stern expression. "I already promised to myself, anyways, that…that I…that I wouldn't let anyone hurt Hinata-chan…

I smiled at the two determined blondes weakly. "Thanks…" I said quietly, and Neji patted his hand once on my shoulder as I sipped my coke, never taking his hand away. I smiled a bit into my pop. '_Yeah…Maybe I was judging them all wrong…Maybe they are worthy enough to be around Sakura and Hinata._' I thought, relaxing.

"Just as I thought." Shikamaru said suddenly when his laptop started beeping. "The two are together, but they're being kept in Karin and Ami's hideout."

"Where's that?" I asked.

Sasuke smirked grimly. "An abandoned ice rink." I blinked in surprise, and he went on. "Knowing Karin and Ami, there's the usual time limit."

"Of course." Neji muttered. I looked up at him and he noted my confusion and explained. "Karin and Ami usually do things by schedules and choreography. They somehow think they'll seem cooler and win the hearts of Sasuke that way."

"And you, don't forget, Neji! You have the same number of fan girls in your fan club as Sasuke has in his, and Naruto-kun has only a little bit less than you two! Oh, and there's also the 'Kill Temari' fan club for people that are out to kill Temari and take Shikamaru for themselves! And there's the Kiba fan club and even a fan club for Lee…Oh, that fan clubs probably gonna turn into a 'Kill Sakura' fan club soon enough, Lee's obsessed with her…" Ino listed off.

Neji coughed. "Anyways…Well, Shikamaru's done some research, and he's found that when someone's kidnapped - we've had this happen with Temari and Ino a lot of times before - they give them a time limit before they attempt to kill them."

"How long is that…?" I asked, my eyes widening.

Shikamaru looked up. "Fifteen minutes."

I choked on my coke. "F-Fifteen minutes?!" I cried as Neji rolled his eyes and patted my back.

"Yes, and now it's even less time because it happened approximately seven minutes ago…add the time that we've just taken up, and that's…so we have…"

"How much time?" I asked again, my voice a whisper.

"Five minutes."

**H**i**n**a**t**a

"Wh-what do you mean…?" Sakura asked quietly to the voices that seemed to be coming from high above us, yet seemed to surround us as well, from all sides.

There were a couple loud, obnoxious giggles. "Aww, girls, they don't get it!"

"Turn on the lights, maybe _then_ they will!"

There was a loud noise, like the shifting of some large lever, and a blinding white flash, and both Sakura and I cried out and hid our eyes with our arms, to the laughter of the invisible voices. We both got used to the light slowly, our eyes watering, wincing and taking everything in.

It looked like an old skating rink or round basketball court. It was made of cement and there were stalls off to the side. We were on smooth white cement, that matched the walls, which climbed higher and higher to a balcony over-head, blocked off by glass. I could see the figures of a group of girls there, the four girls from earlier smirking at the front, peering down at us from the glass.

I heard Sakura gasp, and I whipped around and saw six other girls climbing down the stairs on the other side of the chamber towards us, heels clacking and echoing menacingly. "You see, girls." Karin suddenly said from the balcony, and I knew now why her voice seemed to surround us so; they were speaking into an intercom. ", when we see people we don't like toying around _our_ _boys_, we get kind of _angry_. Right, Ami?"

"Right, Karin." Ami sang sickly. "And when we get angry with girls like that, we bring them here. Like all those many times we brought Temari and Ino here. We stick them in the ice skating rink alone with six of our best fighters, three for each of them, and let them be _eliminated_. Girls, meet our fighters, and prepare to die while we watch!"

Sakura bit her lip. "Y-You're crazy!"

"We are _not_, bitch!" Karin spat. "We're getting rid of the competition! We're protecting Sasuke-kun and Naruto-kun! So we _paid_ Sai with all the money we had so he could distract everyone else away from the house except you two, so we could break in the bathroom window and get our hands on _you two_ so we can _kill you_ once and for all!"

"You're not going to kill us!" I said suddenly. "You've done this many times to Temari and Ino, you said! What makes you think you won't kill us?!"

"Because the other times, Temari and Ino were saved by their gang!" Ami yelled back sharply. "This time, your gang can't rescue you!"

"They're probably on their way right now!" Sakura snapped as the six fighters advanced towards us. She pulled me up gently by the arm and now we stood, backing away from them. "They'll be here any second! We believe in them, they wouldn't let you do something like this to us!"

"Wro-ong!" Ami cried in a sing-song voice. "They're gonna _watch_ you get killed!"

"What are you talking about?!" Sakura demanded, getting frustrated.

"We've messed with the locks so you can only open the doors from the inside!" Karin said. "We'll let them get inside of our hideout, while we hide below, and lock them in the balcony to watch through the bullet-proof glass you guys get beat to death! They'll be forced to watch you guys die! Then Sasuke-kun and Naruto-kun and maybe even Neji-kun will see how great _we_ truly are!"

"You're sick, you're idiots!" Sakura roared furiously, but she looked truly worried.

"At least we're not dead!" Ami screeched, and all the girls laughed loudly as they exited the balcony with one last amused, "Have _fun_!" crooned through the intercom.

Sakura let out a growl of frustration as the six girls grinned menacingly. "Alright, girls. Let's go at em!" the girl in front said happily.

"First thing's first in a fight, though." another girl said.

"What's that?" a third one asked ecstatically.

The girl smirked and cracked her knuckles, looking straight at Sakura and I. "We gotta separate em."

**T**e**n**T**e**n

"Get on the highway, get on the highway!" Temari screamed.

"Three minutes!" Shikamaru announced.

"Wait, not that one, the next one!" Temari cried. "God damn it, you don't have to stop for every cute little goose you see crossing the road! Run the damn thing over and do a hobo some good!"

"…Are they always this-?"

"Yeah, don't ask." Neji interrupted me. I was sitting in the back seat with him and Naruto. Sasuke was in the front, holding on for dear life, and Temari and Shikamaru were hunched over Shikamaru's laptop in the trunk, Temari reading off a map to Karin and Ami's hideout for a very stressed out Ino while Shikamaru announced how much time we had.

"Take a right here, _now_!"

"Two and half minutes!"

"If you don't kill me, Ino, I'll kill myself…" Sasuke groaned, clutching his stomach. "I think I'm gonna be sick…Can't you slow down…?"

"Sasuke, we can't, or Hinata-chan will…!" Naruto stopped talking and seemed to realize the truth in his words. He probably had never been so worried about anyone before, I gathered, because I noticed the confusion over himself in his eyes. Along with the same worry _I_ felt for them. I smiled a bit.

"We're here!" Ino suddenly cried, and I looked out the window. We had finally arrived at a gigantic dome-shaped building made of grey brick. "The abandoned ice-skating-rink." Ino introduced to me dramatically. "Ghetto, isn't it, TenTen?"

I grinned. "I like our hideout better. It's more…homey."

"That's cause it's a house." Neji said, and I pouted as he laughed. "Well, let's go inside and kick some ass, then."

"Right." Sasuke said. "Let's move. Temari, Shikamaru, you know the drill, stay in here…And you know what, Ino, you stay here too, please try to make sure those two don't end up having sex in here again."

I gagged and everyone gave me an amused look as we got out of the car and Temari and Shikamaru laughed, as if they shared some sort of inside joke. "Sick freaks…" I muttered under my breath, making Neji laugh again. We all stopped in the middle of the parking lot to look up at the ice rink.

"Uchiha, I think they're probably being held in the rink itself, as usual." Neji said thoughtfully. Sasuke nodded slowly. Neji sighed. "Shouldn't TenTen stay behind then?"

"Huh?!"

Neji turned to me. "It's not a good idea to bring more girls with us."

"No, Hyuuga, it wouldn't do TenTen any good to stay behind wondering what's going on with her sisters." Sasuke said. I blinked. '_He just called us sisters…_' I thought, and Sasuke continued. "Besides, she's your sidekick, don't you think she should be backing you up at all times?" Neji shrugged and nodded, agreeing, and Sasuke started walking. "Let's head out then."

I grinned. "Hah. I win again, Neji." I said poking his arm as we walked side by side behind the rest of them. He just rolled his eyes but smiled a bit.

We entered the place to a lobby. I glanced around and smiled in awe. "Wow! It's so big!" I cried, my voice echoing off the enormous walls. "How-?"

Neji clapped a hand over my mouth. "Don't give us away."

I smiled sheepishly from beneath his hand, then he withdrew it and shook his head. "Let's move." Sasuke said, and we followed him through the lobby. There were food stalls and a place to rent ice skates, all empty and seemingly filled with cobwebs. When I peeked curiously over a counter I saw cots scattered about. I raised an eyebrow. '_Ino's right, this __**is**__ ghetto. They sleep in food stalls. I wonder what the other gang's hideouts are like._'

"Hurry up, TenTen, you're lagging behind." Sasuke called, and I looked up to see everyone in an elevator over to the side. I ran over quickly and pushed myself through them to stand near the back. Neji pressed the up button, since there were only two buttons, which were arrows pointing up and down. The elevator thankfully seemed to still be working as the doors clamped shut and, with a hiss of air pressure, it lifted itself slowly. '_Come to think about it, most of the power seems to be working too._'

"Hey, how do you guys pay for the power and bills and things?" I asked Naruto next to me.

He jumped. He had been unusually quiet, probably worrying about Hinata. "Oh…Well, usually we have the tech supporters provide us power with generators that they've created by themselves. That's how we get power, Shikamaru controls everything. He had me, Neji, and Teme help him out a bit as well, but he did most of the work."

My eyes widened. "Cool! He's really smart!"

"Are you kidding? He's a genius, TenTen! Haven't we said before his IQ's over 200?" Naruto boasted with a toothy grin. "Sasuke always says we're lucky to have him."

I giggled, and Sasuke said suddenly, "We're here. Quiet down and follow all my orders."

The other three of us nodded, and we crept slowly into what looked like a control room. It was a balcony that towered over the ice-skating rink, covered by glass. I took it all in. There weren't any doors out of it except for a door down to a staircase, and I noticed it was made of steel and locked with a gigantic silver lock that shined gloatingly out to me. That meant the only way back down was…

"Wh…What's happening to the elevator…?" I asked suddenly, surprised.

Sasuke and Naruto continued surveying the room as Neji ran over to me, and both of us stood still as the elevator suddenly did something strange. Instead of retreating back down, it stayed in place, the doors stuck together tightly. Neji narrowed his eyes and hit the button next to it. We waited and nothing happened, and he gritted his teeth. "Looks like they were expecting us, just like Sai. We're locked in here…"

"Um…Neji, TenTen, you really need to come see this…" Naruto called suddenly, sounding terrified.

We both ran over to Naruto and Sasuke, who were holding onto the railing against the glass and staring out into the ice-skating rink. Neji and I did the same, and I froze, stiffening and gazing in shock at Sakura and Hinata, both being cornered on other sides of the ice-skating rink by three advancing girls each.

"Wh…What are they doing…?" I whispered.

Neji sighed. "It looks like our five minutes are up. They're going to try and kill them now."

"Wh…NO!" I yelled. I banged against he glass. "How do we get out of here?! I have to help them, let me out!"

"TenTen, calm down, we go down the stairs." Sasuke said, and he pointed to Naruto picking the lock of the door. The lock finally fell the ground and Sasuke tried to pry the door open. However, it was in vain. The door didn't budge, and he frowned. "Damn it, it's stuck. Hyuuga, help me out here."

Neji rolled his eyes and obeyed, walking over and pulled out a long knife from his jeans. "Alright, stand back." He slipped the knife in and moved it around for a bit, but then he suddenly straightened up, staring in shock. "Shit…Uchiha, it only opens from the inside!"

"What?!" Sasuke yelled. "Damn it, they hit us with a surprise! I can't believe it, they're locking us in here, god damn it, we have to get down there now or they'll kill them! Hyuuga, shatter the glass!"

Neji nodded and pulled out a gun now, shooting the glass three times. However, the bullets only ricocheted off it and swung back at me like a boomerang. I dodged it, jumping to the side, and glared at Neji, who stared at the glass. "It's bullet proof! We'll never get out of here!"

My eyes widened. "Oh my god…" I ran to the glass and slammed my hands against it. "What do I do?! Sakura and Hinata are…!"

Suddenly one of the girls aimed a punch at Sakura and knocked in the face, and I bit my lip as she dropped to the ground, holding her nose, which was spurting blood now. Sakura wasn't letting it go, though, and she suddenly stood and socked the girl right back in the face, which was when the other two both brought their fists into her stomach, and she fell to the ground again, arms hugging her waist tightly, her expression tight and pained, coughing blood from her mouth.

"Shit…" Sasuke whispered, staring at her.

Suddenly, there was a loud screaming sound and a door below was knocked down into the melted, cement ice-skating rink. Everyone in the balcony with me all froze, and our jaws dropped.

"LEE?!" we all yelled, watching the boy run towards Sakura and her three opponents quickly. Sakura looked up and her eyes seemed to bug out, her mouth dropping open as well. Lee stood in front of her bravely. He was still a mess from being so drunk, but he seemed sober enough.

"What happened, why isn't he still in the house?!" I asked, turning to Neji and Sasuke, meanwhile feeling my heart beat faster with hope that maybe Sakura and Hinata would survive this now that Lee was here.

"I don't know!" Sasuke said, fumbling around. He took out the empty bottle of poison that he had used for Lee and stared at it, then groaned and slapped his forehead. "This wasn't the right poison! Grah, well at least he got over his hangover quickly enough…"

"Yosh!" Suddenly his voice seemed to surround us, and I looked up to see some intercom speakers in the corner of the balcony; we could hear everything they were saying. "I am Rock Lee, Konoha's Proud Green Beast! I will not let you lay a hand on this beautiful cherry-blossom any longer!"

"Lee…!" Sakura said, surprise in her voice.

He grinned over his shoulder at her. "Hell Sakura-san! I am sorry I could not come earlier, I'm afraid I ran into some trouble! But I swear that I will not let these hooligans touch you or Hinata-chan again! I will teach them a lesson! Believe in me!" With that, he turned to the three shocked girls. "Prepare yourselves! I learned this from my youthful rival and companion, Neji-kun!"

"I wish he'd stop calling me that…" Neji muttered as Lee launched into an attack.

The girl in front, one with long black hair, simply laughed. "You'll never hit us, you freak. No matter how fast you are!" Suddenly she was a flash, and then she had him in a headlock. "See?"

"Shit! What the hell, he's supposed to have that attack down, I taught him it _how_ many times?!" Neji said, surprised. "Damn it, Lee! You're still messed up from that Sake, I knew it!"

I watched as suddenly the other two girls, as the first held him still, advanced and started hitting him. "Ah…! He's getting hit so hard, is he gonna be okay…?" I whispered, scared for him. "Come on, Lee, fight back!"

"It's no use, TenTen." Sasuke said quietly. "The Sake messed him up big time. He can't fight the same. Usually, those girls would all be down in a manner of seconds, but now he can't do anything right. He's finished."

Sure enough, the black-haired girl soon dropped him after a while, and he didn't move any longer, although his hand did twitch towards a shocked Sakura on the ground.

Sakura glared at her. "Why did you do that to him?! He was just trying to help me out! You're all so sick!" She suddenly jumped to her feet and ran at them again, but a girl just punched her again. Before Sakura could hit the floor, though, the black-haired girl grabbed her by the hair.

I winced. "Sakura, get out of there!" I whispered.

"GRAH! How can they do that?!" Naruto suddenly roared, and I glanced over to Hinata, then gasped in horror. She was sitting, slumped against he wall, blood running from her mouth, eyes closed as her head rested sideways on her shoulder limply.

"_No, Hinata_…!" I cried, my voice breaking with anguish. "They have to let me in there! What do I do?! Sasuke, can't you do anything?! Neji, think of something, please, _please_!" Neither of them said anything, just looked away from me, looking ashamed and I gulped. '_What do I do…?! I can't help them, I can't help them, I can't…!_' Suddenly, a memory struck me, and I paused.

"I can't help them…" I whispered aloud. "That's it!" I said loudly, snapping my fingers. All three boys looked at me, but I ignored them and gazed down at them. "Just like I talked with them about! I just have to give them permission! How do I get it out to them…?" I grinned and then slammed on the glass as loud as I could, yelling, "SAKURA, HINATA, LOOK UP!"

Sakura, tears falling from her face, looked up in surprise. I could hear through the intercom her weak voice gasp, "TenTen…?!"

Hinata aroused slowly and opened her eyes as the three girls advanced, laughing, on her, and her eyes caught on mine. I grinned and nodded, then pressed my hands against the glass, spelling out a 'P'.

Both of them gasped and stared in surprise, then shared a glance across the room at each other. Hinata slowly nodded, and Sakura tried to, but the girl holding her hair shook her head and Sakura winced and looked down.

I took my hands away from the glass. "I think they get it…" I whispered.

"Get what, what are you talking about, what did you tell them?!" Naruto asked in a rush, eyes glued to Hinata, filled with fury.

I looked down at both of them from the glass. "In this case 'P' stands for 'Permission'. I'm giving them permission to fight at their best. We promised this a long time ago. If I couldn't help them, if they ever got into any trouble on their own, I'd give them permission to fight at their best."

"Why do you have to give them permission?" Sasuke asked slowly.

I smirked. "Simple. _I_ taught them how to fight. _I_ showed them everything they know. But the thing is…not even _I_ can do what they can do…" I put a hand up. "Don't try to help them, no matter what. I know they can do this. For once, _they're_ gonna fight…" I smiled as both of their hands suddenly fisted, staring at the ground. My hands fisted as well in pure exileration. "And _I'm_ gonna watch…"

**X**X**X**X**X**

Hey, did anyone else have issues with fan-fiction-dot-net last night? I did. It was kind of weird, different things didn't work, like I'd click on a category and the white page of doom would show up. :(  
Re-Read & Edited while listening to: _Le Vie Boheme_ from _RENT_. XD  
Reviews would be nice. 470 particularly. ;)  
thanks for reading!  
xmarachanx


	14. Transformation

Hey guys!  
thanks to:  
totalnarutofangirl85, ShinobiXAngel, Merciless Ruby, Tilders, Pnkrockninja101, Nerd4eva, xXxKimakoxXx, HisEyesMyNameAmBeR159, kimiko77, eviltwin222, XxkIkIrOxX, Youkai Koneko, DarkAnimeAngel13, kickass.chick91, 3, Shenhui, Teera-chan, Music 1s my s0ul, WahineDancer, mangamaniacgurl, minimuffin-on-acid, MidniteCurse4Eternity, Kyra-Mitsu, anthropomorphichybrid, ChickenBuck, siny, Matahari, Jackie, Kick -Assing -Kunoichi, SMOKe13, Sunny Soul, writingxonxwalls, Daisy Valentine, Sasu-Saku-cherryblossom, waterdragonrai, .xXx.hikari.midnight.xXx., naruto.luv.llamas, timcampy101, ShikalllTema  
Enjoy!

**X**X**X**X**X**

**H**e**a**r **N**o **E**v**i**l  
_See no evil. Speak no evil._

**D**i**s**c**l**a**i**m**e**r: Oh emm eff gee, I don't own Naruto. :)  
**S**o**n**g: _Summer Song_ by _Fall Out Boy_. :)

C**h**. **F**o**u**r**t**e**e**n - Sakura's Transformation

_Joke me something awful just like kisses on the necks of "best friends"  
We're the kids who feel like dead ends  
And I want to be known for my hits, not just my misses  
I took a shot and didn't even come close_

**T**e**n**T**e**n

In a flash, Sakura whipped out a knife from the pocket of the girl holding her. The girl twitched in surprise, then laughed. "That's not gonna work on me, _girl_."

Sakura suddenly looked up, and I saw a new spark in her eye and a sly smirk on her face. "Who said it was for you?"

Everyone stared and chanted, including me and the girl holding Sakura, "_What_?"

And with that, Sakura sliced the knife over her head and cut her hair about mid-neck with one sweep of her arm, the knife slicing right through the long pink strands.

My hands tightened on the bar and I gaped. "What the…?! I didn't teach her _that_! What the hell is she thinking?!"

"But TenTen…that was…that was _brilliant_…!" Sasuke said in surprise as Sakura suddenly ran off to the side and dived over the short wall into the penalty box, ducking before the black-haired girl could shoot with the gun she had pulled out of her pocket in fury, throwing the rest of Sakura's pink tendrils onto the floor, which floated down gracefully.

"BITCH! YOU HAD BETTER FUCKING COME OUT!" the girl screamed.

"Kin, calm down!" another one said. "We gotta get her out first."

The girl, Kin, sighed and swept her hair back. "Okay, okay…" She opened her eyes. "Sakura-chan!" she sang. "Come out come out wherever you are! Hide and seek is over, it's time to play dodge ball!" The other two girls laughed, and I rolled my eyes.

Suddenly something moved, and one of the girls screamed. I saw red and my eyes widened; Sakura had thrown a crow-bar from the penalty box and gotten a girl in the gut, who was now squirming on the ground shrieking in pain. "Whoa…" I whispered, staring at the blood creating a pool around the slowing girl. "I didn't teach her _that_ either…"

"Damn it!" another girl hissed. "Kin, she's getting to us, don't let her get cocky!"

"I won't!" Suddenly Kin screamed and shot her gun to her left, but it was only a water sack that Sakura had thrown over from another penalty box; Sakura was moving around, probably crawling from penalty box to penalty box and trying to divert them and confuse them about her locations so she could sneak up on them. The water sack exploded and water spilled all over the floor. The two girls hissed a curse and glanced around.

"I know you're here!" the other girl cried harshly. "Come on out, Sakura-chan! HAH! You can't try that again!" She shot at another water sack, but it turned out to not only be a water sack but a crow bar thrown behind it, which curved through the air and sliced into the gun, which backfired and hit the girl herself, who was knocked unconscious by the explosion.

"GOD DAMN IT! COME OUT RIGHT NOW!" Kin screamed as the other girl flew backwards and rolled on the ground, her head bleeding onto the cement. Another water sack was thrown, and Kin smirked. "Another diversion, huh?! Here!" She shot at the water sack carelessly, which exploded, and glanced around. "Now where are you really?!"

Everyone else, however, knew what was coming. Blood hit Kin's hand, and she glanced back at the exploded water sack in surprise to see Sakura running from behind it, taking the shot to her arm as a sacrifice to get to Kin. When she finally got there, she wrenched the gun away from the shocked Kin's hand and drew her fist back, then punched Kin in the face with full force, sending Kin flying and crashing in the wall of the ice-rink, blood spewing from her features.

Everyone on the balcony was too stunned to say a thing. That is, until Naruto said quietly, "Whoa…Hinata…!"

I grinned and turned to see Hinata standing over a girl on the ground. Her hand was up; she had slapped the girl, hard it seemed too, and the other two girls had jumped back in shock. "When did that happen?!" I asked excitedly.

"I don't know!" Naruto admitted honestly. "I was watching her the whole time! One second she was on the ground and those three bitches were ganging up on her, next she was standing up and one of the girls was on the ground, slapped really hard and bleeding! It's almost like those 'Silent Killer' stories. It seems like nothing even happened."

I blinked and turned to watch Hinata's other two opponents come at her. She just stood there, wiping the blood away from the corner of her mouth gently with her hand, and had a sly smile on her face. "Why isn't she moving…?" I asked quietly. "They gonna hit her at this rate, she'll…oh, that's why."

"HYAH!" Within seconds, Sakura's fist had thrown both girls into the side of the rink, red blood dripping from them and the walls crumbling at the blow. Hinata smiled at Sakura, Sakura smiled at her, and I sighed in relief.

"Whew, it's over…" I said under my breath. Then I stiffened. "Hold it…HOLY SHIT WHERE DID YOU GUYS LEARN THAT?!"

Neji covered his ears, wincing, and said, "What happened to you teaching them?"

"I did _not_ teach them that crap! Grah! Sakura, Hinata, let us in right now or I'll come down and kill you both!"

Sakura glanced up at me and stuck her tongue out. "Hah!" she yelled through the intercom. "You think your stupid 'how to throw a knife and shoot a gun' lessons are gonna work?! No way, we do things _our way_ TenTen, and we don't need your stupid permission either! See that?! We kicked _ass_, damn it, _ass_! CHA!" She punched the air, and I narrowed my eyes.

"One more crack like that and I'm breaking the intercom… JUST LET US IN DAMN IT! YOU SHULD BE THANKFUL I'M EVEN HERE, SAKURA, IF YOU DIDN'T SEE ME YOU WOULD HAVE YOUR UGLY ASS DEAD BY NOW!"

"Okay, okay, TenTen, I'm coming." Hinata assured me, smiling. "Sakura, you stay here. You look too beat up to climb up those stairs."

"Heh, true…" Sakura said, smiling a bit. "But for some reason, it feels good. I think I know what TenTen's talking about now." She sighed and sat down with a relieved exhale.

I smirked proudly as Hinata climbed the steps to the balcony and messed around with the lock till it clicked open. "Finally!" I said, and I ran out and grabbed Hinata by the arms. "Are you okay?!"

She smiled. "I'm fine, TenTen-chan." she reassured me as the others filed out into the inner balcony.

I grinned. "You were awesome, really! You didn't do any of the stuff _I_ taught you, but it's okay, cause that was _seriously_ cool!"

"It was, Hinata-chan, you were amazing!" Naruto cried.

She blushed and opened her mouth to say something, but Sasuke interrupted her. "Alright, Neji, TenTen, go check up on Lee. I'm sure he's fine, but just in case. The rest of us will check the perimeter for bombs, weapons, etc. Karin's team's tricky and they plan everything ahead of time…Of course, they don't know you three." Hinata and I glanced up at Sasuke as he grinned proudly down at Sakura, who was checking her injuries and running a hand through her hair. "The most unpredictable people I've ever met."

Neji dragged me away down the steps ahead of everyone else to head over to Lee. We both knelt down in front of him and Neji pushed his shoulder. "Lee, hey, wake up." Lee didn't move.

I sighed. "You're too gentle. I know how to get these kind of people up…" I pushed Neji's hand away, then kneeled in front of Lee's head, grabbed him by the shoulders, and started to shake him back and forth. "Lee, hey, get up now you lazy bum! It's…um…_un-youthful_ to ignore a lady when she's telling you to wake up!"

"I APOLOGIZE! GAI-SENSEI, FORGIVE ME!" Lee shot into wakefulness, hitting me in the head accidentally and sitting up straight.

I glowered at him and rubbed my head. "…Yeah…"

Neji snickered. "You sure know how to wake those kind of people up, TenTen…"

"Shut up…"

The others showed up at last as Neji put Lee's arm around his shoulder, attempting to help him to his feet. Naruto laughed. "Hah! You idiot fuzzy-eyebrows! How could you get hurt like tha-"

"HEY! SHUT UP ABOUT LEE!" Sakura roared, punching Naruto in the head, hard too, as he was sent smashing into the ground.

I blinked. "That has _got_ to be a new record, Sakura."

Sakura ignored me and looked down at Lee with a smile. "Lee?" He looked up at her with hopeful eyes as Hinata helped a groaning Naruto to his feet. "Thanks. A lot. Besides TenTen, you're the first person to ever stick up for me like that, and I really appreciate it. It means a lot to me."

"Ah, I've been replaced." I said sarcastically under my breath as tears of happiness streamed from Lee's eyes and he nodded ecstatically.

Sakura giggled. "Hey, that doesn't mean I'll go out with you, Lee, remember that."

Lee laughed as well. "As long as you are safe and happy, Sakura-chan, then I am as well."

She beamed, then turned to Sasuke. "Well, let's go home. I have a lot of people to fix up, don't I?"

He smirked. "I told you to be ready to heal a shit-load of people, didn't I?"

**S**a**k**u**r**a

"Oh my gosh, seriously?!"

"Yeah, but it gets better! So Kin was like, 'That won't work on me, blah, blah, blah', and Sakura's like, 'Who said it was for you?!' and _that_ was when she cut her hair!"

"_So cool_!" Ino and Temari squealed as I rolled my eyes.

"Hinata-chan was the coolest though! One second she was on the ground, the next second the other girl was on the ground, bleeding, and then she knew Sakura was coming and just stood there all cool as Sakura pummeled them into a wall!" Hinata blushed.

"And TenTen was all protective and all! Haha!"

"Oh shut your trap, Naruto." TenTen snapped.

"That's _so cool_! I never would have guessed Sakura and Hinata could be so awesome!" Temari said excitedly. We were all sitting squeezed in the healing room. Sasuke, Neji, and TenTen were sitting, in that order, side by side on one of the beds, and Lee and Hinata were sitting on the other one. As soon as we had gotten into the car which Ino had ready for us out front (trying to ignore the furious screams from some of Karin's members that followed us out) Ino started shrieking about my hair, so Naruto started to tell her, Temari, and Shikamaru what was going on as we drove home. Now he was finishing his story as I cleaned up Hinata and Lee.

"Alright, you're good, Hinata." I said, tying the bandages tightly on her wrist. Shikamaru was in the corner of the room, muttering under his breath into a cell phone, informing Kiba, Gaara, and Kankerou of what had happened at Sasuke's order. Ino and Temari were sitting, knees drawn up to their chests, against Hinata and Lee's bed, facing Naruto across them, who was sitting beneath Sasuke's feet, telling them his sloppy tale. I turned to the three above him now, hands on my hips. "Now it's your turn."

All three of them winced, and TenTen said, "You're not gonna hurt us, are you? Cause the look in your eyes is really scary…"

"Well, it's just that you have a lot of tiny little cuts. And those tiny little cuts can turn into infections if I don't treat them. However, tiny little cuts have a tendency to sting the most. So you're all gonna be jumping a lot. I hope you're ready, TenTen, cause you're first."

"What?! Why me?!" she asked, scooting back on the bed as I advanced.

I grinned. "You think I didn't hear you yelling at me before? Something about how if you weren't there my '_ugly ass'_ would be dead by now?"

She gulped. "Um…I didn't say that, I said…_pretty_ ass! Pretty_ tiny_ little ass!"

"You don't roll that way, hun." I said, and I grabbed her arm with one hand, the disinfectant pad with another, and wiped down the cuts.

TenTen wouldn't stop twitching and wincing and hissing in pain, but I didn't particularly mind myself…

**H**i**n**a**t**a

We were all sitting in the living room. TenTen and I sat on one sofa, Naruto, Neji, and Sasuke on another one. Shikamaru sat on an armchair, Temari in his lap, the two kissing and playing around, Lee on the other one, and Ino and Sakura were both missing. After Sakura had healed everyone, which resulted in small white bandages covering our arms and faces - mostly Neji, TenTen, and Sasuke from their fight in the high school, and Lee, from running around like a maniac - Ino had dragged her away ranting something about her hair, and the rest of us just shrugged and walked into the living room to be treated to some hot chocolate that I prepared.

Now we could hear Ino and Sakura's voices from the bathroom.

"Don't worry, Sakura, it's fine."

"I've never had it so short before."

"It looks hott, and it'll be easier to fight. It's either this or keep it up all the time like TenTen. But I don't think TenTen's hairstyle would suit you, it looks cuter on her. Short looks amazing on you."

Sakura and Ino emerged from the hall, and everyone stared. It seemed they'd both taken showers while we were waiting, and both changed their clothes. Ino was in the usual black outfit that included a miniskirt and fishnets, her hair the usual as well. Sakura, however, had been attacked mercilessly by Ino and her fashion sense.

"It's not so much the hair, Ino, but…" her voice trailed away shyly when she saw everyone's gaze. She wore a black short sleeved shirt with a red tank over it, a black and red plaid skirt with black buttons all over it, and big black boots. Her pink hair wasn't uneven anymore and had style to it now.

Sakura smiled a bit as everyone stared. "Well…how does it look…?"

"Wow, when did Sakura turn sexy?!" Temari asked with a grin.

"U-Uh…Nice…" Sasuke muttered under his breath, causing Sakura to turn bright red. Neji, Naruto and Shikamaru all just shrugged, not seeming to care. But Lee, of course, started a rant about beauty and youth and the 'burning heart of his gorgeous young cherry blossom' until Neji said to shut up.

TenTen nodded in approval. "Geeze, Sakura, if you're so cute say so earlier, yeah?" she said. "Maybe I could've cut your hair in your sleep or something."

"You look beautiful, Sakura-chan, Ino-chan really did do an amazing job!" I said honestly with a big smile.

Ino smirked. "TenTen, Hinata, you're okay with it?" TenTen and I both nodded warily, and she cracked her knuckles. "Good, cause you two are next!"

TenTen and I both gulped and shared a glance. "What…?" we asked at the same time.

Ino laughed. "Just kidding! You're both cute as it is. But you both seriously need a shower and a change of clothes, too. So come with me! Oh, and the rest of you, pay attention to Temari. She's picking out all your clothes."

With that, Ino grabbed TenTen and I by the arm and whisked us away. I glanced back, and apparently everyone else was used to Ino and Temari dressing them, for they just shrugged. I sighed. '_She sure loves doing this to people, doesn't she…?_'

But as I glanced up at her, I saw something in her face. Worry? Fear? But why?

'_She didn't have anything to with Sai's attack_…' I thought. '_Or…did she_…?

**X**X**X**X**X**

EVIL CHAPTER OF SHORT-ITUDE. LOL, sorry guys, really. I had to cut it in half. DX  
Re-Read & Edited while listening to: _Crushcrushcrush_ by _Paramore_. :D  
Review please! I would like 500! Maybe, possibly? Probably not, but who knows what luck will bring? Wish me luck at school tomorrow and maybe we'll see! XD  
thanks for reading!  
xmarachanx


	15. Mystery Murder

Hey everyone! Thanks to the following for getting 28 over my goal -dances-:  
_Merciless Ruby, Youkai Koneko, naruto.luv.llamas, ShinobiXAngel, mangamaniacgurl, Sasu-Saku-cherryblossom, TentenNeji, Uchiha, Nami, kickass.chick91, .xXx.hikari.midnight.xXx., Hina-chan20, SMOKe13, Sunny Soul, Kick -Assing -Kunoichi, Nerd4eva, HisEyesMyName-AmBeR159, Hikoru, Aniki, Kyra-Mitsu, Music 1s my s0ul, xXxKimakoxXx, SparkyCasper, Pnkrockninja101, Tilders, Hoshi-Naito, kimiko77, Jackie, XxkIkIrOxX, totalnarutofangirl85, ShikallllTema, Shenhui, ayame81131, Matahari, o.O, Dreaming101, MidniteCurse4Eternity, anthropomorphichybrid  
_Those I couldn't respond to (there were many questions I felt the need to answer):  
**TentenNeji:** thanks for reading TGL too! I'm glad you like this story. :D  
**Uchiha, Nami:** Parmore FTW! XD  
**Hikoru, Aniki:** You _are_ wrong! Don't worry, we have a ways to go! This story's not ending anytime soon! :D  
**Jackie:** Thanks, glad you didn't think it was short! :)  
**ayame81131:** -sigh- You're not the only one who's asked me that question. I already explained why on the last chapter of that story and gave people two days to see it. please don't trouble me about it. oh, and also, Ino would not be making out with Shikamaru, she would be making out with Sai, and Shikamaru would be making out with Temari. :)  
thanks again, everyone! Enjoy!

**X**X**X**X**X**

**H**e**a**r **N**o **E**v**i**l  
_See no evil. Speak no evil._

**D**i**s**c**l**a**i**m**e**r: Oh emm eff gee, I don't own Naruto. :)  
**S**o**n**g: _Summer Song_ by _Fall Out Boy_. :)

C**h**. **F**i**f**t**e**e**n - **Mystery Murder

_At trust and love and hope  
And the poets are just kids who didn't make it  
And never had it at all_

**S**a**k**u**r**a

"Oh for god's sake, they won't open the door, they're probably still asleep." I said after we tried ringing the doorbell the thirteenth time. I was there with TenTen and Hinata on the front porch of a girl named Matsuri's house, Sasuke, Neji, and Naruto behind us on the cement. Temari and Shikamaru were waiting in the car out front. We were there for Ino. She was spending the night at this girl's house.

Matsuri just happened to be Temari's brother Gaara's girlfriend who lived alone. She owned a small girls' gang that hadn't yet been allied with Sasuke's gang; they hadn't gone over the so called 'ritual' to ally gangs - whatever _that_ was I didn't want to know. She, like all the other gangs in Konoha except Sasuke's and Karin's, did not go to school anymore and lived the life of luxury off of what she could rob and steal. But Ino did go to school, and we were here to pick her up. She had spent the entire weekend at Matsuri's, insisting she just needed to talk to her about some 'girl stuff' that apparently me, my two best friends, and Temari weren't _girl_ enough to talk about with her.

"Can't we just pick the lock, grab her, and drive her there?" TenTen muttered impatiently.

I was going to agree, but Hinata shook her head. "Let's not, we don't even know this girl. It's just not right sneaking into her house."

"Hey, but _we _know her, Hinata-chan." Naruto pointed out, and she smiled.

"That's true…Why don't _you_ pick the lock then."

"Easy." Giving Hinata a grin, he walked up the steps and pulled a small bobby pin out of his pocket. He fidgeted with the lock only for a little bit, then opened the door and pushed Hinata inside gently, shoving me and TenTen back. Once Hinata was inside, he gave us a smirk. "Ladies first."

In a matter of seconds his head was bleeding and TenTen and I were stomping in after Hinata, slamming the door behind us. I could hear the chuckles of Neji and Sasuke scolding a groaning Naruto, then we made our way through the kitchen and looked around.

"Where' the bedroom…?" TenTen asked quietly. I understood why she was talking so softly. There was a bad feeling around the place. It was a little too quiet, even for sleeping girls.

"Probably down here." Hinata said, in just as hushed a voice, and led the way out of the kitchen down a small hallway. She proved to know her houses, for she opened what looked like a closet door to reveal a carpeted staircase. "The bedroom's up here."

We climbed up and glanced around. There were friendly photos of a red-headed boy with a tattoo on his forehead and brown-haired girl taped there messily. Most likely they were Gaara and Matsuri themselves. I smiled a bit and then we got to the upstairs bedroom.

I glanced around, but when I caught sight of what was in their beds, I let loose an ear-piercing scream, and Hinata and TenTen both gasped as well, Hinata giving a whimper and TenTen pulling out a knife from her school bag and glancing around warily while her face shown fear and disgust.

Not too much later we could hear the boys slam into the room downstairs. "What happened?!" I heard Sasuke yell. "Where are you guys?!"

I couldn't speak, I could only stare, and Hinata looked too terrified to do anything. So TenTen took control and yelled, "We're up here…!"

"Don't move, we're coming!" Neji shouted, and we heard them running up the stairs and come to a halt. All three of them immediately skidded to a halt, stopped, and stared, but they recovered pretty quickly.

"Hinata-chan, it's okay." Naruto said quietly, putting a comforting arm around her.

"Sakura, you okay…?" Sasuke asked under his breath, putting a hand on my shoulder. I couldn't say anything. I couldn't even move. "Sakura…?"

"What happened…?" TenTen asked. "Neji, tell me what happened."

"I don't know." Neji said softly.

All of us were looking at the one bed in Matsuri's bedroom. Simple, with white sheets and a beige comforter. But that was what was wrong. The bed was empty, and those white sheets and beige comforter, most of the bed, was covered in blood.

**T**e**n**T**e**n

"I'll kill Ino! I'll slit her throat then rip off her skin and feed it to a cat, then make a shed in the backyard out of her bones for the cat to live in, then kill the cat and burn all the remains! Then I'll damn her stupid pranking ashes for eternity in _hell_!" I drew a deep breath when I was finished. Shikamaru had been called up and examined it, then told us it was all fake blood.

"First you have to find her, Tennie." Sakura muttered. "Not that I'm so against the idea…I'd gladly help, we can split the vengeance."

"Fifty fifty's fine with me, as long as I get to do the skin-ripping part…" I growled.

"Sakura, TenTen, please." Hinata said exasperatedly.

Naruto was holding a calming Hinata with a glare on his face equal to me and Sakura's fuming ones. After Shikamaru had told us it was fake he had called Temari up, who came and was now laughing hard, earning Shikamaru's glare; he had been scared stiff as well, and so had the other three boys. I was now kneeling behind Neji and giving him a shoulder massage as he sat on the ground, forehead in his hands. Sasuke kept muttering things about how all blondes must die.

Temari was watching all of us, and she snorted. "You're all pathetic. Shikamaru, get your lazy ass up and do a search for them. Wherever they are they're not in the house. If they were they'd probably jump out of no where and scare TenTen Sakura and Hinata to hell…And TenTen would probably kill them."

"She's killing my shoulders." Neji pointed out, and I laughed guiltily and lessened the strength in my hands, feeling his tense muscles relax. He seemed to like my touch, not just the massage, and I didn't mind touching him either. His shoulders were wide, like all men, and his skin at his neck was smooth, but firm with muscle. I remembered not too long ago when we stepped into the house to the sight of him shirtless and blushed.

"Shit!"

Neji's head snapped up and I snatched my hands away from him. Everyone looked over at Shikamaru, who was staring at the screen of his laptop. "What's wrong?" Temari asked, looking over his shoulder. Then her eyes widened. "Oh no…!"

"What's up?" Sasuke demanded.

Shikamaru snapped his laptop shut and stood up quickly. "Uchiha, we have to move, now. I channeled Ino and Matsuri's cells and they're stuck in Karin's hideout."

"What?! Again?!" I cried.

"Why now?! We're late enough to school already!"

"Screw school, Sakura." Sasuke said as if he was teaching her a very important life lesson.

"It looks like Karin was the one that you'll have to kill, TenTen." Shikamaru said. "She was the one that grabbed Ino and Matsuri and poured the fake blood all over the bed. I should have known, it's the cheap kind you can by at any party store."

"But school-!" Sakura tried again, but Sasuke interrupted her.

"Sakura, I said before, you're too good for your _own_ good." he said, shaking his head. "Come on, everyone, let's move…again…And Shikamaru, call Temari's brothers. Gaara's gonna want to know about this."

**H**i**n**a**t**a

"So you're the three legendary new teammates on Uchiha's team."

TenTen, Sakura and I all stared at the boy who must be Kankerou. He was dressed in black sweats and had shaggy brown hair framing a strong jaw. Gaara was next to him in beige sweats and sporting beneath his red hair that I recognized from the photographs in Matsuri's house a red tattoo on his forehead that said love in Kanji. He was quite monotone and emotionless. Kankerou, on the other hand, was very lively and sarcastic.

TenTen gave Kankerou a once-over, then frowned and looked up at him. "I don't like you." she said simply, then pushed past him and into the car before everyone else.

Neji laughed. "Yeah, that's my sidekick." he said to Kankerou, then patted the confused boy on the shoulder and followed after her, probably intending to scold her amusedly.

I giggled, and Sakura sighed. "Ugh, TenTen…she just _has _to judge people…"

"Hey, I don't mind it. If I did I'd be a hypocrite, cause I'm judging you just by looking at you." Kankerou said with a smirk, looking Sakura over. "Nice…" Sasuke coughed, and Sakura glared at him.

"You know what, I don't like you either." she snapped, and she made a point to stomp on his foot as she walked past, which must have been painful considering her strength and the look on his face, and followed TenTen calling, "You were right, Panda!"

Kankerou got over his foot and hissed through his teeth. "That's gonna leave a bruise…Who was that one?"

I sighed. "I'm sorry about them…That was Sakura."

"Ah." Kankerou smiled at me. "And you are?"

I smiled back warmly. "Hinata. It's nice to meet you. You as well, Gaara."

Kankerou sighed. "Wow, you sure aren't as feisty as the other two, but your cuteness factor makes up for it! Aren't you just adorable?"

"Leave her alone, Kankerou. Come on, Hinata-chan." he muttered, grabbing my arm and yanking me away as I turned red at the compliment.

"Why the hell is everyone leaving, we were trying to introduce you guys!" Sasuke yelled after us.

"Then move your ass, Uchiha, we can introduce everyone in the car on the way to get Ino and Matsuri!" Neji yelled out the window as Naruto helped me in gently then climbed into the trunk. Neji was on the floor of the car, Shikamaru in the front seat next to Temari, who was driving. Sasuke, Gaara, and Kankerou glanced at each other, then shrugged and made their way to the car. When Gaara and Kankerou climbed into the trunk and Sasuke onto the floor next to Neji, Temari started the car with a jolt and zoomed away wildly.

"Hah. I missed this baby." Temari said with a wicked grin. She slid a hand out the window and flicked off other drivers that were beeping her casually, speeding through three red lights in a row.

Sakura and TenTen both grimaced. "I'm gonna be sick…" TenTen muttered.

"Don't do it on me or I'll stick you in an incinerator and watch."

"I'd pull you in with me."

"I'd break the walls down."

"I'd just run back out."

"I'd put them back up so you couldn't get out."

"I'd summon an army of winged fish to shoot you both!" Temari snapped from the front seat. They both stared at her, and she smirked. "Now _that_ is what I like to hear."

"Silence is music to the ear." Shikamaru said with a laugh, looking proud of his girlfriend's threatening skills. TenTen and Sakura both shared a glance and rolled their eyes.

"We're here, get your asses out of my car!" Temari suddenly barked, and she swerved to a stop in the parking lot in front of Karin's hideout.

"Jesus, Temari, you speak so cruelly to your own brothers?" Kankerou called from the trunk sarcastically.

"Mhm, nice to see you, love you guys, now get out of here." Everyone opened the doors as a couple of us laughed.

Sasuke heaved a sigh. "Here we go again…"

**T**e**n**T**e**n

"Well that was easy." I muttered.

We had gotten into the hideout quickly and almost effortlessly and climbed the stairs to the balcony of the ice rink. We had gotten there in time to see Ino and Matsuri standing over two other girls that were lying on the ground, blood coming from their sides, triumphant looks on their faces. Now they were up in the balcony with us, Temari, Kankerou, and Shikamaru, waiting in the car out front, and Sakura was checking Ino and Matsuri's injuries…after Matsuri gave an annoyed Gaara a long hug.

"It was a little too easy. I don't like it." Matsuri said, nodding. "By the way…Before this pink chick attacked me yelling about bruises and blood, I never got to know you…Who are you, this girl that's disinfecting my ankles, and that cute thing over there?"

I laughed a bit. "Well I'm TenTen, that freak is Sakura, and that is Hinata-chan."

Matsuri smiled. "Ah, alright. Ino and Temari have told me a lot about you guys. Apparently everyone on your gang is really fond of you three. I can see why they love you so much"

"Huh?" Neji, Naruto and Sasuke all asked at the same time as Sakura, Hinata and I blushed. Matsuri just laughed.

There was suddenly a loud bang that made Sakura and Matsuri scream. Ino and I shared a glance and started laughing, till they glared at us and made us stop. "What was that?" Hinata asked.

"I don't know, Hinata-chan…But I'm sure it's nothing to worry about." Naruto said reassuringly.

I, however, saw something over in the corner of the balcony. "I think it is something to worry about after all…" I said slowly and warily, my eyes widening. Everyone looked over to where I was referring. There was smoke swirling up quickly. It was either a fire or an enormous amount of heat.

"Ah…it seems they were trying to kill Ino and Matsuri after all. They weren't expecting us this time."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

"It looks like they're unfortunately setting off what looks like a bomb I encountered once before." Neji said slowly. "I barely got out of it alive."

I swallowed hard. '_If it almost killed Neji…it's gotta be bad…_' I thought, wide eyed.

"We need someone fast to disable it as the rest of us get out of here, or else this entire place will come down and most likely be a cause for the police to come, which definitely would _not_ be good." Sasuke said, watching the smoke warily. "Someone really quick and skilled with their fingers…"

Ino looked at me and pointed, and I glared at her. "Selling me out, wow, great friend." I hissed.

Sasuke smirked. "Good idea. TenTen, go get it. You know how to disable a bomb, right?"

I nodded slowly. "I used to make homemade bombs all the time with dad before he turned all pissed off at me."

"You're such a freak, Ten." Sakura muttered. I ignored her.

"They're all made with basically the same design, right?" I asked.

"Right. So go ahead and run over there and disable it and try not to die, and the rest of us will get the hell out of here."

"Uchiha…You're not seriously making her do this." Neji demanded. Sasuke nodded, and I noticed Neji grit his teeth and send me a worried look.

"Wait a minute, is it really that dangerous?" Sakura asked Sasuke.

"Yup. So that's why I'm doing this." With that, Sasuke circled his arms around Sakura's waist and threw her over his shoulder gently.

"Hey! What are you doing?!"

"Knowing you and your paranoid self you'd interfere with TenTen, and I don't need that when there's a bomb like this."

"What?! No way! TenTen, don't you _dare_! Sasuke, let go of me right now! TenTen, don't do it, you'll get your stupid little bun-haired ass killed! Don't be an idiot! Sasuke, put me down _now _or you don't get any dinner!"

I raised an eyebrow. "Just for that I'm doing it for sure. Good luck Hinata."

"But TenTen-!"

"Come on, Hinata, we gotta go!" Naruto took her hand and ran after Sasuke and Sakura.

Matsuri grinned at me. "Good luck yourself, TenTen." I laughed and slapped her hand, then turned and ran off to the bomb. It was smoking even more by now, and I coughed and ducked down to the ground to look at it.

The way it was set up, it had to heat up to a certain temperature before it went off, hence the smoke. I just had to figure out what was making it heat up and then it would be easy to disable after that. I glanced around the contraption and tried to touch it, but then withdrew my fingers quickly and hissed in pain, examining the dark red burn on my skin. "Itai…!" I whispered.

"Are you alright?"

"Wha?!" I jumped in surprise and turned to see Neji crouching beside me. "Neji, what the hell are you doing here?!"

"I'm helping you." he said simply.

"You're stupid! Get out of here, now!" I cried. "Stop trying to save me, I can handle myself!"

Now Neji was getting angry. He narrowed his eyes. "No you _can't_, TenTen. Don't you understand? You're new in this gang by only a couple weeks and you already think you can disable a bomb? You're the one being stupid, not me."

"Well even if I am I can learn from mistakes. Let me do this on my own!"

"We're in a gang, we're supposed to stick up for each other!"

"I don't care! Go away and leave me alone!"

"Why?! Why won't you let me protect you, TenTen?!" Neji said, his voice raising, his eyes staring desperately into mine.

I blushed, then frowned. "_Because you'll only get hurt_!" He blinked and relaxed, and I turned away. "If you keep standing up for me and saving me and helping me, you're gonna get the side effects. You're gonna get what was aimed at me and take the effects even worse. I…" I stared at my knees. "I hate thinking that might happen to you." I said quietly.

Neji was silent for a bit, then he put a hand on my shoulder and I glanced up at him. He was smiling at me. "Let me help you, just this once. It's not saving your life, it's not standing up for you. It's being reassured that you're okay. Besides, you're my sidekick, and that means you stay by my side and I stay by yours, at all times. Isn't that okay with you?"

I stared at him for a bit. He'd made a point. I smiled back at him a bit. "Yeah." I said softly.

He laughed a bit and retracted his hand. "Alright, let's see about this-"

"Oh shit…" I said suddenly, staring at the bomb. Neji looked down and his eyes widened. It was starting to spark.

"Fuck!" Neji shouted, and he grabbed my arm and pulled me up. "Run!" He took my hand and pulled me along. We started running down the stairs out of the balcony, and that's when we heard a huge bang. I glanced up at Neji as his hand tightened on mine. His face was more worried than I'd ever seen it.

**S**a**k**u**r**a

"Why is Hyuuga taking so long?" Sasuke muttered. I was standing to his left, and I glanced up at him as he said that. We were all out in front of the car, staring at the building as the ceiling slowly collapsed. I couldn't help but wince every time I heard the screams and crashes of the steel bars slamming into the ground. Smoke and dust flew in a cloud out to us and made it a little harder to breath.

I bit my lip. "What do you mean?" I whispered. "Are they going to make it?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and said nothing for a while, then opened his mouth, but someone interrupted him. "Yo, it's Uchiha!"

Sasuke and I both turned around and our mouths dropped open.

There were about fifty teenage boys and girls standing in the parking lot. The girls were all organized around Matsuri, and the boys were behind Gaara or Kankerou. All three gang leaders were smirking proudly at us. I glanced sideways and saw that Sasuke and I weren't the only ones that were surprised. Hinata and Naruto were staring, confused, Temari and Shikamaru, who had before been making out in the car, were now blinking out the back window, and Ino, who was perched on top of the car, was looking interested and somewhat excited.

"What the hell are you doing with all your members here?!" Sasuke demanded.

"I called some people, told them what was going on, they said they wanted to see it for themselves, so I invited everyone. It's a little party." Kankerou said, grinning. Sasuke just stared.

"Heard we're just waiting on Hyuuga and his new teammate, right?" one of the boys from Kankerou's team called.

Sasuke shook his head slowly and muttered, "Weirdo." under his breath, then spoke up. "Yeah, let's just watch and wait. They're coming." We all turned around again. I threw one more look their way, then turned around with Sasuke again. "I hope…" Sasuke added quietly.

I bit my lip and faced the slowly crumbling building. '_TenTen…_'

**T**e**n**T**e**n

"Ah, it hurts!" I cried as we ran through the smoke and ashes and sparks of the burning building that scraped against my bare skin.

"Just deal with it, Sakura can fix us up later." Neji said, his voice moving with his breath. He never let go of my hand as we flew as fast as we could down the stairs. "We're almost there." Finally we got to the end and crashed through the door to the second story of the building, intending to find the stairs down to the first story. That was a bad idea, because almost immediately a piece of the ceiling fell, flaming, down and almost on top of us if Neji hadn't grabbed me and dived out of the way. He got us both back to our feet easily and we ran to the door as fire burst around us and the air grew thick and heavy. It was getting harder to breath and my eyes were stinging almost as bad as the rest of my body.

I dared a glance behind me and had to swallow my scream. There was a huge wall of fire rushing at us. "Neji, we're not gonna make it!" I yelled over the loud roaring sound that suddenly surrounded us. It was getting hotter and hotter, and I felt my heart beat in terror. '_I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die…!_'

Neji just narrowed his eyes and suddenly his arms were around me and he had dived out the window. I felt the fire envelope us and I closed my eyes, hiding my face in his chest, but soon there was a sharp jolt and the fire left, and I coughed as Neji hissed in pain. We were lying on our sides on the grass outside the building.

There was a loud cheering and whooping noise, but I didn't care about it. Neji and I coughed all the ash out of our systems and I wiped the ash away from my burning eyes. We both looked at each other. His arms were still around me, and I noticed the black all over his face and laughed before wiping it away, and he let me. We were both breathing hard, and our eyes met and we laughed a bit in relief. Then Neji said, "I think I proved you wrong. We made it."

I smiled, lost in his eyes. "Yeah…"

"TenTen-chan, Neji-nii-san!" I heard Hinata call over the cheering.

Neji helped me up and kept an arm around my shoulders to steady me. I saw the rest of the gang running over to us and looked down at myself. I was covered in ash and dust, just like Neji, and there was also the small smears of blood from the scratches and burns on our skin. But other than that, nothing was broken on either of us, and we could both stand. We were fine.

"Who are they…?" I asked as Neji let me go, watching the fifty or so teenagers cheering as they watched Karin and Ami's hideout burn to the ground.

"It looks like Kankerou, Gaara, and Matsuri all invited their gangs to watch Karin and Ami's place get ruined. It is kind of satisfying to see." Neji said, nodding fondly at the ice rink. I giggled.

"God damn it! I told you not to go, TenTen!" Sakura shrieked as everyone finally got to us. "Look at you! You're a mess and you almost burnt to death! What were you thinking?"

"Let's see…" I put a finger to my chin. "I was thinking 'Sakura has a gigantic forehead.'"

There was a silence as Hinata sighed and I braced myself.

"THAT'S IT! _I'M_ GONNA KILL YOU, NOT THE DAMN FIRE! GET OVER HERE, I DON'T CARE IF YOU'RE INJURED, YOU'RE GONNA DIE, PANDA!"

"Try and catch me first, Forehead! Oww, running hurts…! Hey, get away! OWW!"

The others all just laughed, except Hinata who hid her face in her hands, as Sakura tried punching me and I held her back, which was _not_ easy. She finally gave up and glowered when Sasuke pulled her back. Ino and Temari suddenly ran up to me and gave me a huge hug, and I laughed a bit and hugged them back as they went on about how cool I was. Naruto put a comforting arm around Hinata as he chuckled a bit, and she gave a relieved giggle. Sakura started arguing with Sasuke. And I glanced at Neji, and we shared a proud grin.

'_So this…_' I thought happily. '_Is what a family's like…_'

**X**X**X**X**X**

Haha, as an apology for the last short update, here's a nice long epic one. XD Yeah, Matsuri finally makes her appearance, along with some GaaMatsu! :D Don't worry, SasuSaku _will_ become stronger eventually. I don't want it to have that much of an influence yet because I have a _lot_ planned out for this story. Don't worry, it's halfway over, but it's not over yet. We still have a lot to write. I'm thinking this story's gonna be in the 20-30's! that's an exciting new goal for me! only cause there's gonna be a ton of angst. :P  
Re-Read & Edited while listening to: _It Sucks To Be Me_ from_ Avenue Q_  
Review. Yeah. 540 possibly? :D  
thanks for reading!  
xmarachanx


	16. How Long

**So how about that Ike? Hurricane Ike, I mean. LOL, I fell like I'm on a commercial..."I like Ike!" or "Got Ike?" sounds good. XD Oh, but all you Texans, I give you my condolences and hope that everything is okay for you (if there's anyone from Texas or any place that's been hit by Ike reading this). At least Ike's not as bad as Katrina, right?**  
Alright, alright, so I love the following very much:  
_Music 1s my s0ul, kick.ass.chick91, XxkIkIrOxX, rao hyuga 18, xXxKimakoxXx, kimiko77, MidniteCurse4Eternity, Tilders, siny, Sunny Soul, SparkyCasper, totalnarutofangirl85, waterdragonrai, o.O, Princess of Storms, ShikallllTema, UcHiHaHyUuGa, minimuffin-on-acid, Pnkrockninja101, mangamaniacgurl, DarkAnimeAngel13, .xXx.hikari.midnight.xXx., Shenhui, ChickenBuck, Youkai Koneko, Hikoru, Aniki, Dreaming101, Sasu-Saku-cherryblossom, Kyra-Mitsu, ShinobiXAngel, Jackie, HisEyesMyName-AmBeR159, Uchiha, Nami, naruto.luv.llamas, SelfishLy.Awesome, Kick -Assing -Kunoichi  
_Enjoy!

**X**X**X**X**X**

**H**e**a**r **N**o **E**v**i**l  
_See no evil. Speak no evil._

**D**i**s**c**l**a**i**m**e**r: Oh emm eff gee, I don't own Naruto. :)  
**S**o**n**g: _Summer Song_ by _Fall Out Boy_. :)

C**h**. **S**i**x**t**e**e**n** - How Long

_And the record won't stop skipping  
And the lies just won't stop slipping  
And besides my reputation's on the line_

**T**e**n**T**e**n

"I can't believe they're not here yet." Sakura muttered as I drove groggily towards the hideout. It was the next day, early in the morning. After all the ruckus yesterday, Temari had drove everyone to the hideout where Sakura healed everyone - mostly Neji and I, again - and then gave me, Sakura and Hinata a ride home, where I kept complaining, more tired than I'd ever been in my life, and mentally exhausted as well, what from the thought of the two girls burning to death in the hideout that Neji and I had failed to un-explode, and the fact that Neji had saved my ass yet again.

All three of us had gone straight to sleep as soon as we got there, and that was about noon, completely exhausted and forgetting about school. This morning, we'd woken at three, early but only because we'd already gotten so much sleep, and decided to wait for our gang friends in the house, where we knew - or _thought_ - they'd show up at four thirty like they had promised us before we left them yesterday. But they never showed up.

"It's not their fault, Sakura." I mumbled sleepily; I was still too tired to think correctly. "They're still sleeping, remember?" We had called Temari when they didn't show up, and she said that they were all still sleeping and to drive over and come on inside, the door was unlocked. Apparently the boys were still sleeping in the living room, and Ino was taking a shower as Temari dressed, so we'd have to wake the boys up ourselves.

"Yeah, but they should be up by now, I mean, _we_ are!" Sakura said, holding tightly a hot carton of four steaming coffees in her lap so they didn't spill. On our way to the hideout, Hinata had suggested we get some coffees for them to get them more aware, and we stopped at a nearby café and got four coffees. For Neji, Sasuke and Naruto. Shikamaru apparently loathed caffeine, so we left him out. He was always tired anyways, so it didn't make a difference. But we got one more just in case Ino and Temari wanted to share one. Besides, it was get-two-get-two-free day, and Sakura insisted we go by the deal.

"They probably weren't thinking about sleeping earlier like we did and are definitely still tired from yesterday." Hinata said reasonably. "However, that was careless on their case…"

Sakura nodded, and I rolled my eyes. "Let's drop the subject. We're here." I parked in front and we all exited and walked up their lawn to their house. It was dark, the lights off, and I felt a little bad opening the door, but Sakura pushed me aside and yanked it open silently.

The three of us walked inside slowly and closed the door gently behind us. I could barely see anything in the dark, but as my eyes adjusted to the dark, I spotted the outline of a flashlight on the coffee table and snatched it up, flicking it on and sweeping it around the room. It lit up the faces of Neji, Naruto, and Shikamaru.

Shikamaru was on his back on one of the sofas, a bit of drool dripping from the corner of his mouth, arms crossed behind his head. Naruto was draped across the other sofa sloppily, snoring loudly. Hinata giggled a bit behind her hand as she gazed at him, a happy look in her eyes. Sakura and I shared a knowing grin at that, then I glanced at Neji. He was a more graceful sleeper than the other two, sitting slumped a bit in his armchair, his head resting in his palm, elbow sitting on the arm of the chair. I smiled fondly.

But then his moonlit eyes opened and he jumped to his feet. "What the-?!"

Sakura sighed and turned on the lights. "Sorry, sorry, didn't mean to scare you guys." she said as Naruto fell off the sofa and Shikamaru groaned and covered his head with his arm. Soon enough he was asleep again. "Shikamaru…!" Sakura cried. Shikamaru kept on sleeping, and she sighed. "Neji, Naruto, don't you two dare go back to sleep. It's time to get up."

Neji moaned and sat back down on his chair. "You've gotta be kidding me…" he muttered. "I thought someone was breaking in or something…and it turns out to be _this_."

I frowned. "Come on…!" I said. "We got you guys some coffee to wake you up. You're not gonna let it go to waste, are you?" I took two of the coffees from Sakura's carton and handed one to Hinata, then walked over and poked Neji lightly in the shoulder till he opened his eyes and took the coffee. Naruto took it from Hinata eagerly saying a quick, "Thanks so much, Hinata-chan!" before he gulped it down, making Hinata blush.

"Where's Sasuke?" Sakura asked as Neji sat up and sipped his moodily.

Shikamaru woke again and sighed. "In the bedroom…" he muttered, sitting slowly and rubbing his droopy eyes. "Where's my girlfriend…?" he mumbled as an after thought, making me laugh.

"I'll go wake Sasuke up." Sakura volunteered as I told Shikamaru that Temari was getting dressed, and she left the room.

**S**a**k**u**r**a

I crept into Sasuke's dark room and closed the door gently behind me, turning on a standing lamp which lit the room very dimly. I saw him on Neji's bunk, sleeping peacefully, and couldn't help but smile. He looked so different when he was asleep. He had such an angelic face sometimes, and he very rarely showed it, portraying such angriness and hostilities. But when asleep, he relaxed, and he looked so…

His eyes suddenly blinked open and he raised an eyebrow groggily. "Sakura…?" he mumbled. I recovered quickly.

"Morning Sunshine." I said cheekily. "Want one?" I held out a coffee.

"What time is it…?"

"About five." I said, standing in front of his bed.

"In the morning?!" Sasuke asked incredulously with a groan. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Waking you up, apparently." I grinned.

"Do you get any sleep?"

"Eh, it's not a big deal."

"To me it is."

"Concerned?"

"Oh, I'm not concerned about you. You're the one that's gonna be saving my ass if I get shot, and I need you awake." Sasuke said, smirking.

I rolled my eyes, sitting next to him. "Oh just take the coffee and be glad I'm not pummeling you." I said, but I was smiling at his joke.

He shrugged and took the coffee, sitting up and sipping it. I saw his hair was messed up a bit and he wore a baggy black long sleeved shirt. The rest of his body was hidden beneath his blanket still, and I felt the back of his legs behind me where I sat, watching him. He glanced at me, swallowing. "Oh, good job, yesterday, Sakura. You're improving greatly."

I smiled proudly. "I don't know how you can stand it. It's kind of scary, this gang stuff."

He smirked. "Well _I_ can handle it."

"So all this never keeps you up at night?" I asked him incredulously, raising an eyebrow.

He shook his head. "Don't be stupid, 'course not."

"So you're never afraid for yourself at all?"

He took one more sip of his coffee. "Nope." I gave him a look, and while I was doing that my hand slipped beneath his pillow and pulled out a long dagger. I'd noticed the bulge ahead of time. Sasuke blinked at it. "Uh…so what? It's a dagger, big deal."

"Mhm…" I said, and now I pulled out what seemed to be a collection of weapons on a keychain, jangling in my hands and clanging against the metal of the dagger.

Sasuke stared at them for a while, but he didn't give up and took all the weapons from me, stuffing them back under his pillow. "It's not _fear_." he said as seriously as he could. "It's _precaution_."

I just giggled and stood. "Get dressed, we need to leave for school at six or we'll be late. I've already missed a day of school, and if I'm late to homeroom, I will personally plan your murder."

"I'm looking forward to it." Sasuke said sarcastically, and I laughed as I left the room, closing the door behind me, a happy smile on my face.

**H**i**n**a**t**a

"Ugh, I don't wanna go to school…" TenTen complained as Ino drove us to the school, all of us in the usual places, and Temari and Shikamaru lounging comfortably in the trunk, Temari in Shikamaru's lap.

"Why not? I mean, besides the learning part, what's wrong with it? You get to sleep, that's my lazy-ass's favorite part of the day!" Temari said cheerfully as Shikamaru played with her fingers in his hands.

"Well, in Geometry I'm sitting in the front row, staring at this gigantic poster on the wall with this creepy kid holding up a sign telling me I'm special, while my teacher goes on and on about the area of a circle and why we'll _totally_ need to know it when we're older. It's like we'll be grocery shopping and go 'Okay, what's the area of this orange? 90-y multiplied by 27-x…' It's so completely retarded!"

Temari, Sasuke and Naruto all burst out laughing. Sakura and I giggled a little. "That is so true, Ten!" Sakura said, grinning.

"Haha, I never thought of it that way!" Sasuke said thoughtfully.

"You know, _when_ will we ever need to know scientific notation?" Temari pointed out.

"And why will we ever need to understand what a ray, angle, or one-hundred-and-eighty degree line is?" Naruto asked, nodding.

TenTen beamed. "Exactly!" Neji was smirking into his shoulder.

I noticed that Ino hadn't said anything all morning, and all last night. Actually, she'd been pretty distant for a while now, ever since she had been kidnapped by Karin's team. '_Did Sai have anything to do with the kidnapping…?_' I wondered absentmindedly.

But then Ino suddenly straightened up and snapped out of her revere, gasping. "I can't believe it! Karin and Ami…how could they do something like _this_ now?!"

Temari straightened up immediately and looked out the trunk window, then narrowed her eyes. "Oh no they did _not_…" she said slowly and menacingly.

"Shit…" Naruto, Sasuke, Neji and Shikamaru all said suddenly at the same time when they saw what was out the window as well.

"What?" TenTen asked, and me, TenTen and Sakura all turned to look out the window and stared.

We were nearing the school, and we could see in red paint on the side of the bricks, in letters so big we could see them from the parking lot, '_SAKARA, HYNATA, TIENTIEN SHT! WHORES!_'

There was a silence except for Ino and Temari swearing furiously about even if we _did_ kill two of their girls, they didn't have to get back at us like _this_. Then suddenly I started giggling. Everyone stared at me as I laughed into my hands. Then TenTen and Sakura started laughing even louder as well.

"Um…boy, you guys sure have bad self esteem." Temari said, raising an eyebrow.

"Not that!" TenTen said between laughs. "They spelled our names wrong _and_ they spelled shit wrong!"

"Haha! Who the hell do they think they are, homeless bums?!" Sakura shrieked in mirth.

"I can't believe how idiotic they are!" I chirped, giggling.

Temari stared at us as Ino stopped the car and we all got out. "So you're gonna take that? They just wiped your name in the mud."

"True. And they _did_ spell 'whores' right, too." TenTen said as Naruto closed all the doors and we made our way down to the school. Some girls walked past and giggled, pointing at us. TenTen glared. "Wanna start something?!" The girls gasped and ran away, whimpering, and TenTen pouted. "That's what I thought."

"Heh, look at that, we actually saw TenTen's bitchy side today!" Temari said, grinning as Neji smirked, looking proud of his sidekick's intimidating skills. "Angry about what they said about you?"

TenTen shrugged. "I'm not so concerned about me and Sakura, because we call each other crap like that all the time, but anyone who messes with Hinata…" TenTen and Sakura both cracked their knuckles. "We can't forgive that." TenTen muttered.

"They're gonna pay." Sakura growled.

I sighed. "What were we talking about when we came here…?"

TenTen and Sakura both sighed and relaxed. "No bitch fights." they both chanted, looking disappointed.

"That's right." I said with a giggle.

"Bathroom." Ino said suddenly, and she ran on ahead, as if she had spotted something. I saw over in the corner of the school someone with black hair disappear around the side, and frowned.

"Sakura, you're being a little hypocritical." Sasuke pointed out as TenTen started up a separate conversation with a very amused Neji.

"Pfft. Say's you." Sakura muttered.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"No-thing!" she sang.

"It meant something, and I wanna know!"

"Well I'm not gonna tell you!"

"You have to because I'm your gang leader!"

"Maybe everyone else is used to you bossing them around, but I'm not gonna stoop to their level! I may be part of your gang and I will obey you when fighting, but I'm an independent woman!"

"An independent woman who _has_ to do whatever I say since I'm blackmailing her!"

"Shut your mouth!"

"Wow…" Naruto said, walking next to me. Temari and Shikamaru had joined hands and walked off to their homeroom together, and Neji and TenTen were walking side by side enjoying a peaceful chat ahead of us on the way to their own homeroom. Now it was just the four of us on our way to our homerooms. "If I didn't know better I'd say they were a married couple."

I giggled, then sighed. "I wonder what's wrong with Ino…" I said quietly.

Naruto glanced at me. "So you've noticed too?"

I blinked and looked up at him. "That she's been distant lately?"

"Yeah. I mean, usually she's running around smiling all the time and just being happy no matter what. She's always dragging you to homeroom with her. But today she's barely said anything and she left you all alone to go to homeroom by yourself after what Karin and Ami wrote about you."

I sighed. "True…I'm a little worried about that…"

Naruto frowned. "Ah! I'll walk you to homeroom!"

I blushed. "N-No, you don't have to-"

"No, I will! You'll be given trouble by people if they see you walking along by yourself, after everyone's seen your name up there like that. I won't let you walk down the halls alone! Come on, I don't care if I'm late to homeroom but we'd better hurry or _you'll_ be late!"

I blushed harder and smiled as he pulled me by the hand, starting to walk faster. "T…Thank you, Naruto-kun…You do so much for me…" I said softly.

He slowed a bit and smiled at me. "Anything, Hinata-chan."

**T**e**n**T**e**n

"Oh…" Hinata gasped.

"My…" Sakura squealed.

"Third cousin twice removed." I muttered, and the two rolled their eyes as Neji snickered. The three of us turned back to gaze in awe at the message on the school.

'_MESSAGE FROM PRINCIPLE: KARIN, AMI, TAYUYA - REMEMBER, DON'T BE LATE OR YOU'LL BE FORCED TO FUCK YOUR SENSEI AGAIN SO YOU DON'T FAIL!._'

It was written in huge bold black lettering and hung by a gigantic white banner over five second story windows, covering the future red paint message that the girls had created and selling an entirely new message…more amusing, too, apparently, because kids in the courtyard were all bursting out laughing and cheering. I could imagine four said girls sulking in the bathrooms now and smirked in satisfaction before remembering who did it and frowning.

"You three did this, right?" I asked, pointing to Neji, Naruto, and Sasuke, who were grinning proudly.

Neji nodded, smirking. "Like it? We thought you'd need it."

"Like it?! Well of course we do, but what about you three?! They're _so_ gonna get back at you!" Sakura yelled.

"So what?"

"You're so irresponsible!"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, then suddenly he, Neji, and Naruto all snapped into a different personality. "You know, maybe she's right. Maybe it's time to grow up, Dobe, Hyuuga." Sasuke said, sighing, putting a hand on each boys' shoulders.

Neji nodded, crossing his arms. "Yup. It's time to focus on more important things."

"Like knowledge and friends and family." Naruto agreed, blinking slowly and thoughtfully.

The three stood in silence for a bit, nodding casually, then glanced at each other. And then, the three of them burst into laughter, Naruto and Neji slapping each of Sasuke's hands then leaning over to laugh some more.

"Good one, boys." Temari said with a grin.

Sakura groaned. "You guys are hopeless…"

"Why are you so upset over something like that anyways?" Sasuke asked after he was finished laughing. Naruto was still chuckling into his hand, and Neji looked like he had heard the best joke of his life.

"You're going to get in trouble because you did something like that for us. It's not right!" Hinata said.

Sasuke coughed. "Well…We're not only getting back at them for what they painted on the school…It's something else they did to you that you're really not gonna like…"

"What do you mean?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Shikamaru sighed. "Well…See, Ino went home sick today, and she called us and sent us a picture via cell phone and…"

"Well, you guys should see for yourselves." Temari said.

**x**x**x**x**x**

"…My truck…!" I gasped.

We had left our truck outside the hideout that morning after we'd gotten in the black sports car for Ino to drive us, intending to drive home in it after Hinata made everyone dinner. However, when Temari drove us _back_...

Hopes to do _anything_ with that truck were crushed.

I stood, Sakura and Hinata on either side of me, gaping at my burning black pick-up truck. The poor, rusty old thing was now in flames, the metal screeching as it bent in on itself and the gas tank, that and the engine already exploded, spilling oil in a great puddle around it like the blood of a great dead beast.

"You weren't a very good driver anyway, hunny…" Sakura said, trying to sympathize.

"She's right. I don't think it's something to get too upset about, TenTen-chan." Hinata said.

"But my truck…!" I squeaked. I shook my head. "This thing cost a fortune! What am I gonna do?!"

"I think she got too connected." Sakura explained in an undertone to a confused looking Sasuke as Neji patted my shoulder, sighing.

"We were going to tell you at lunch but decided you'd make a big deal out of it." Neji said. "So just try to remember how Karin and Ami's gang's name is mud, and you might feel better…"

"But my car's dead…! It sucked, I hated it, but it was my _transportation_! How am I gonna _live_?!"

"Ino and I drive you everywhere now, don't we?" Temari snapped, frowning and seeming insulted.

"Sure, but what if some day one of you can't?! What am I gonna do?! God, I feel helpless!" I cried.

"Cheer up, come on! We have a party tonight, after all!" Ino suddenly skipped out of the house, beaming, with a smiling Matsuri by her side. Everyone stared, and I knew we were all thinking the same thing; '_What the hell happened is up with Ino and her personality changes_?!'

I blinked and Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Um…Two questions. What's Matsuri doing here, and what party are you talking about?"

"We're hosting a party here!" Ino said happily. "Matsuri arranged it all when she came over today. She heard I skipped school pretending to be sick when I _really_ just didn't feel like a Chemistry test, so she came over and we were so bored we started texting people, and sooner or later we decided we were so proud about our awesome job kicking Karin's gang's sorry ass that we're gonna host a party here to celebrate!"

"Without my permission?! Damn it, Ino, how many times do I have to tell you to ask me or Neji before you plan shit like this?!"

"Aww, sorry Sasuke-kun!" Ino said, pouting.

"We thought you'd be excited, dude!" Matsuri said, frowning. She saw me and grinned. "Yo, Ten, where's that cute little panda smile we all love to see?! It's just a piece of machinery, Ino and Temari are the only ones that cry about that kind of shit. You're not supposed to care, you're supposed to forget about all of it and have fun tonight! Come on, girls, I get to dress you all!"

"…What…?"

**x**x**x**x**x**

"No way are you dressing me like a slut!" Sakura snapped. All the boys were out in the living room as the girls were in Ino and Temari's bedroom, all of us deciding on outfits to wear for the party.

"We can hear every word you're saying, you know!" I heard Sasuke call from the living room.

"Like we care?!" Sakura yelled back.

"Just letting you know, that's all!"

Matsuri sighed. "Of course I won't dress you up in a slutty outfit, Saki! But a hott red tube dress will fit you _perfectly_!"

"Ex_cuse_ me?!" It was silent. Then Sakura smirked. "Those are _so_ out of style. Something colorful, please, that shows off my figure?"

"Ah, great idea! That would be just _darling_!" Matsuri cried.

"I get black!" I volunteered.

Matsuri glared at me. "No, _you_ get green!"

"_What_?!" This time, it was my turn. "Okay, green does _not_ suit me. If you mix the brown from my hair with green it'll look all organic, and I am _not_ an earthy person."

Matsuri nodded. "True, true." She looked me over. "Hmm…A dark blue would really bring out your skin tone."

"Blue, definitely." I said, nodding.

"Perfect! Okay, what color for you, Hinata-chan? A really light blue…"

"Or just white or lavender." Temari said thoughtfully.

"Nah, that's really cliché. She always gets those colors." I said.

"Yeah, something different would stand out." Sakura noted, clicking her tongue.

"How about a nice pale green?" Matsuri suggested.

Hinata smiled. "That would be nice. I've always liked greens."

"Wow, no matter how tough they are, they're still chicks, and all chicks are obsessed with fashion and color arrangements." I heard Sasuke say from outside, and Neji and Naruto both muttered in agreement.

"We can hear you too, you know!" Sakura yelled.

"Like we care?" Sasuke mimicked her.

"Okay! TenTen, stick this on, it's perfect!" I blinked as Matsuri suddenly threw a dark blue strapless dress that went down to mid-thigh with a very tiny, almost un-noticeable slit in the side into my arms, then a dark brown belt to go around the waist with a lighter brown heart in the middle, a matching blue choker, and finally some calf-high, dark brown boots. "Keep your hair the same and you'll be adorable. And Sakura, try this one."

As I started stripping down and trying on my new outfit, Sakura caught a dark orange dress. It was a box-cut at the chest, and had sleeves that went halfway down her upper arm and ended at mid-thigh. There was also a green belt that went loosely around it with a bow of the same color off to the side. She also got some pink tights and black knee-high boots. "Put your hair in a high pony tail and you'll have a sort of fruity theme going on." Ino instructed her, and she obeyed. "And Hinata, here you go!"

Temari handed Hinata a pastel green empire dress with a higher cut chest than the usual empire dress and short poofed sleeves, a matching ribbon at the chest-cut, ending at mid-thigh. Then she got tossed a pair of cowgirl boots. "Put your hair in a low pony-tail, Hina!" Temari suggested, grinning. "And now _we'll_ dress _ourselves_ with our mastery of girly fashion!"

"Yay!" Ino and Matsuri cheered simultaneously, and I heard the boys groan from outside. Soon we were all dressed in our outfits. I glanced at the other three girls who had done the dressing. Temari's hair was now straightened and down, and she wore a red strapless dress with crimson tights and dark brown knee-high boots, a black pendent around her neck.

Ino wore a lime green spaghetti-strap dress that went down to mid-thigh with big yellow stars dotting it randomly and knee-high yellow boots. Her hair was up in a glossy bun, and as she struck a pose for herself to observe in the mirror, she actually looked innocent for once instead of the tight black slutty appearance she usually carried.

And Matsuri's hair was up in a high pony-tail like Sakura's, and she wore a white empire dress, same design as Hinata but with a lacy design on the front, violet tights, and knee-high cowgirl boots. She looked cuter than the harsh, battle-ready uniforms she had been in every time I saw her.

"Alright! Now that we all look sexy, it's time to show off!" Ino cried.

"Isn't that what you always say when you dress us up…?" Sakura muttered as we walked out.

The first thing that happened was Shikamaru scooping Temari over to him and kissing up her neck, and her glower, muttering, "Oh, _now_ you kiss me in public."

Next, Ino and Matsuri, on either side of Sakura Hinata and I, gestured their arms to us as if showing off valuable merchandise, until I grabbed Matsuri and Sakura grabbed Ino and we nearly broke their arms off.

Neji, Sasuke, and Naruto were staring at us, and the awkward atmosphere lasted only about a second longer before Naruto tripped over Sasuke's foot and landed on the ground, slamming his head into Neji's knee, and the three boys started a violent fight in which Neji won easily and the two were soon held by the back of their shirts in each of Neji's fists as he stood, glowering. Ino and Temari both exchanged a bit of money after that, Ino losing the bet.

Sakura groaned. "I'll say this again. You guys are all hopeless…"

**x**x**x**x**x**

"Sheesh, why so many decorations?" I asked as Neji, Sasuke, and Naruto trudged through the kitchen carrying bundles of lights and streamers. I was with Sakura and Hinata in the kitchen, the three of us preparing food. The three boys were setting up decorations in the front and backyard. Temari and Shikamaru were out getting the supplies for everyone, and Ino and Matsuri were busy just ordering everyone what to do.

"Why so much food?" Neji retorted, staring at all the ingredients we had laid out on the counters and table. "What is all that anyways?"

I smiled. "I'm glad you asked!" I gestured to Hinata. "Hinata's making spaghetti with Neapolitan sauce, Chirashizushi, and takayaki!" I pointed at Sakura. "Sakura's working on fried chicken and rice cake soup." I poked a thumb into my chest. "And I'm making the sandwiches and onigiri because I suck at cooking and those are the only things that don't require an oven!"

Sakura giggled. "How's it sound?" she asked the boys.

"No pocky? No ramen?" Naruto asked, pouting.

"Don't blame us. Matsuri picked it all out. She said she wanted party food and only party food." Sakura said, putting her hands on her hips.

Sasuke sighed. "Whatever. At least you don't have to set up the decorations. We have to, or they'll rip our throats out."

"Oh, do you need help carrying them?" Hinata dusted off her hands and hurried over, taking some from Naruto's arms. He grinned.

"Thanks a lot, Hinata-chan, you're great!" he said, following her out back as she blushed and giggled.

Sakura, Neji, Sasuke and I all watched them leave, then Sakura and I squealed, "Kawaii!" and clapped our hands together at the same time.

Neji and Sasuke raised their eyebrows. "I seriously don't get what you're so excited about all the time. Cool, they're hitting on each other. So what?"

"They're not just hitting on each other!" I said, frowning.

"Yeah! They're in _love_!" Sakura cried, and I smiled and nodded.

"But what if Naruto doesn't actually love Hinata?" Neji asked.

Sakura and I both stiffened and glanced at each other, then turned back to the other two and cracked our knuckles, glowering.

"I'll turn him into a hermaphrodite." Sakura growled.

"He will die a virgin." I promised darkly.

Neji and Sasuke both looked at each other then started laughing. "Never mind. Have fun cooking." Neji called sarcastically as they walked out, Sasuke still snickering.

**x**x**x**x**x**

"It is finite!" Matsuri declared, kissing her palm and waving it in the direction of the backyard.

We stood in the kitchen, where the meal Hinata, Sakura and I had made was laid out on the table and counters, and looking into the backyard where lights and streamers were hung around the gate and trees, glittering colorfully like rainbows reflecting in the smooth glass of diamonds. The sky was darkening just a bit, the day slowly turning to evening, approximately six o'clock, and all the brightly colored decorations stood out among the dark. They had even forced Neji and Sasuke to lug the stereo system into the backyard and Shikamaru hooked it up so people could dance to music while chatting and walking around.

"Great, now we have to wait, like, half an hour till everyone shows up." I said, sighing. I glanced at the boys and frowned. "Hey, hold on a second! Ino, Matsuri, Temari, why did you force us to dress up but they get to stay in their school uniforms?!"

Neji stared at me and shook his head, mouthing, 'Shut up!' frantically, but Ino, Matsuri, and Temari all glanced at each other and grinned.

"Great idea, TenTen! Alright, boys, follow us to your bedroom! We'll pick out your outfits and let you change by yourselves! Come on, come on!" Matsuri called, gesturing to the boys, who all gave me angry looks as they followed after her unwillingly, except for Shikamaru who was being steered by his girlfriend.

"Have fun!" I called after them. Neji just flicked me off, and I giggled.

S**a**k**u**r**a**

"Seriously, Neji, TenTen…?" Naruto asked.

The two stood in front of us, nodding. Music was blasting loudly from the backyard. Guests were already over, the party just starting. Everyone was in cute, flashy outfits with makeup done up and their hair curled or straightened or up in ridiculously high styles. It was almost intimidating. But what made me satisfied was that people seemed to enjoy my fried chicken and rice cake soup. Apparently I wasn't that bad of a cook. However, they weren't so obsessed with my food as they were with Hinata's. Everyone was lining up and stuffing down plate after plate of Hinata's delicious meals, and it was fortunate we had enough for all of them. But now, we were in the living room, except for Shikamaru, Ino, Temari, and Matsuri, and all of the other guests for that matter (everyone was in the kitchen or the backyard) and we were chatting away.

"You're seriously training?" Sasuke asked, mimicking Naruto. "Right now, during a party? Are you that obsessed?"

"I felt stupid last time because I didn't knock anyone out!" TenTen complained. "Neji said he's gonna teach me some new tricks, and I really need to improve."

"You know you're in a dress, hun." I pointed out.

She blinked. "Oh, that's true."

"It'll look just as good in jeans." Hinata said, looking TenTen over.

"Really? Great, I'll go get some!" She ran off, and Neji watched her and shook his head.

"Tell her I'll be out in the front yard." he said, walking off.

TenTen came back soon enough with jeans on underneath the dress, tucked into the boots, which looked almost even more adorable, and we told her where Neji went, so she ran off.

Now it was just me, Hinata, Sasuke, and Naruto in the living room. I sighed after a while and said, "Bored…!" loudly.

"Let's go and check up on the party, then." Hinata said, smiling at me and standing up.

"Good idea, Hinata-chan!" Naruto said, grinning as we all stood as well. "I think a couple people I haven't talked to in a while are here. Oh, and I could introduce you to people you've never met before!"

Hinata smiled. "I'd like that." She followed Naruto, and Sasuke and I walked side by side behind them, stopping next to the door outside in the backyard as the other two disappeared in the crowd.

I smiled. "It's so great. She finally found someone that understands her. It's about time." Suddenly there was a couple whistles, and I glanced over to see boys ogling me. I blinked. "What?" I asked them.

One of them stepped forward, smirking. "The name's Kabuto. Wanna come over to my house tonight?"

"…Why…?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

All the boys burst out laughing. "You're a riot!" Kabuto said, chuckling. "I like you! I heard you're the new medic on Uchiha's team. Same position as me on Kabuto's team. Nice to see you by the way, Uchiha. But Haruno, right? Sakura Haruno? Like the cherry blossom?"

"…Yeah…What's so funny, do I have something on my face…?"

Kabuto grinned. "If there was something on your face it would be my c-"

"Okay, don't go there, Kabuto." Sasuke interrupted him suddenly, narrowing his eyes.

Kabuto blinked in surprise, then smirked. "Whoops, sorry Uchiha, I didn't know. Sorry to impose on your girl." He waved cheerfully and they boys all walked away, laughing recklessly.

I groaned. "I don't get it, what was he gonna say? And why were they so interested in me?! And why are you staring at me, damn it?!"

Sasuke looked away from me quickly and lost his fond smile, suddenly looking a little unsure of himself. "Well…you look…well, you know."

I blinked. "Do I really look that funny?" I asked, glancing down at myself. Then I looked up at him. "Oh! I do have something on my face after all, don't I?! Ah, I just keep getting embarrassed again and again, don't I?! You know if there was something wrong you could have just told m-"

"No! It's not that, alright?!"

"…Huh?" I stared at him. "Then what _are _you talking about?"

Sasuke stared back at me. "You…You really aren't that full of yourself, are you?" he asked quietly. For some reason, he looked sad. As if he pitied me.

I shrugged. "No, I sort of am. You ever hear the way I talk about myself?"

"Yeah, sure, but that's just when you're fighting with TenTen, and then you're just trying to insult her, not compliment yourself." Sasuke said slowly. "Sakura…" He sighed. "Well, just to let you know…You're really pretty, and you're smart, and you're kind. So you shouldn't think about yourself like that." he said quietly, looking away with a frown. "It's stupid. No matter what anyone says, and I know a lot of them have said a lot of bad stuff about you, none of it's true. You're…you're a great person…" He finished awkwardly, and I stared at him, shocked.

'_Why did he just say that…?_' I thought, just gazing up at him, unable to say anything. '_What's __**with**__ this sudden personality change?! It's not like him. I mean, sure I've only known him for this long, but…_' I bit my lip. '_Sasuke…_'

"Th…Thanks." I mumbled.

'_THANKS?! WHAT SORT OF STUPID RESPONSE IS THAT?! I COULDN'T HAVE THOUGHT OF SOMETHING BETTER?! DAMN IT…!_'

"U-Um-"

"Sasuke, hey! Sasuke!" Naruto and Hinata suddenly showed up, Naruto interrupting me, and we both snapped back into normality. "Meet me over by the stereo system, we're gonna make fireworks!"

As Naruto walked away, we both glared at each other. "Thanks, huh? Creative."

"Yeah?! Well what sort of stupid speech was that earlier anyway?! What are you, a preacher?!"

"This is what I get for trying to be nice to you?!"

"You started it!"

"Just…Just come on, let's go meet Naruto and Hinata at the stupid fireworks."

"Let's!" I yelled furiously at his back as he stormed away. But both of us noticed the blushes on our cheeks.

**T**e**n**T**e**n

"Yes! Three times in a row!" I yelled, jumping around and punching my fist into then air, then stopped to point at Neji on the ground and say, "In your face!"

He rolled his eyes and shifted onto his elbows in the grass, looking up at me. "I've beaten you more times than this and have _I_ ever gloated?"

"No, but that's cause you don't have to gloat about it! This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, I have to enjoy it!"

"You don't expect you're going to win against me in the future?"

"Nope. No one can beat you." I said without thinking, then blushed a bit.

He only smirked and stood. "Let's try one more round, then we'll take a break."

"Oka-Oww!" Neji's fist was suddenly connected in my stomach, and I flew into the tree. I winced and wrapped my arms around my stomach, feeling the organs contract painfully beneath my now bruised skin, coughing a bit. I looked up at him and glared. "Wh-What was that?!"

"Now that I've been beaten fighting normally, I'm going to give you everything I have." Neji said, and in a flash he was behind me, a knife hovering in his hand over my neck as he held me tightly to him from behind with his arm around my waist, locking my arms behind me. "You'd be dead by now." he said conversationally, his breath hot against my neck, tickling my skin.

I felt myself turn red, then I glared. "Alright, if you're going to give it everything you have, I'll give you everything _I_ have!" I slipped from under his arms and threw a fist into his stomach. It caught him off guard, but he dodged as soon as my fist grazed his abdomen and suddenly grabbed both of my arms and threw both of us to the ground.

I blinked and turned even redder. Now he was on top of me, his hands on my wrists, locking them to the ground, his face inches away from mine. He smirked. "Got you." I pouted, defeated, and he laughed and rolled off of me, slipping one arm under my back. "You need to work harder on that." he said.

I said nothing and tried to get up, but he only pulled me back down, his arm still under my back, the hand gripping my shoulder. "Relax. We've been training for an hour and a half, it's time for a break. Just lay down and get your energy back."

"…Fine." I muttered moodily, still grouchy about getting beaten by him after my astonishing victory before, and crossed my arms, and he laughed again before turning to the sky.

We were silent for a while, but suddenly we both blinked as there was a loud cracking noise. Seconds later, brilliant red and gold sparks exploded against the black starry sky, showering down in a sizzle of sparks to disappear as ashes, camouflaging with the dark atmosphere.

"Fireworks?" we both said at the same time, then looked sideways at each other and laughed.

"I didn't know the festivities were that crazy." I said, smiling.

He smiled back, looking straight into my eyes. "Uchiha and Uzumaki are known for their firework displays. They love fireworks."

I giggled and watched as more fireworks exploded and cheers erupted from the backyard party-guests, edging the two boys on. I lay my head on Neji's shoulder after a while, suddenly feeling much cozier, suddenly wanting to be closer to him.

I felt Neji stiffen at that, but soon he slowly touched his head to mine. I noticed how slow and hesitant he was and sighed. "Why are you so distant?" I asked quietly. "You don't have to be so quiet with me. Why do you insist on being so…I dunno, secretive?"

At first I expected Neji to deny something like that, but instead he exhaled slowly and said softly, "Because…I'm afraid of what you'll think of me…"

I blinked. "…What do you mean…?"

"I'm afraid you'll think of me just as everyone else does. Even my fans, they only want me for my talent. I'm being used, by everyone. My family thought I was nothing and never looked at me, but even when they do, or when anyone does, they think I'm an idiot and I'll let them take me for granted. You all think I'm…a tool."

"No!" Neji looked at me in surprise, and I frowned at him determinedly. "Neji, that's stupid! I'd never think of you like that, I never have, I _don't_! I…" Gaining confidence, I wrapped an arm around him and hugged him from the side. "I think you're amazing." I whispered.

Neji was still and silent for a while, then suddenly he turned to his side and hugged me tightly, gathering me in his arms and resting his face in my hair. "That means a lot to me…" he said softly.

I smiled and closed my eyes, relaxing in his chest. '_Neji…_'

**S**a**k**u**r**a

"Sheesh, you guys didn't kill each other, did you?" I asked, watching as Neji and TenTen walked up to us, both a little pink in the face. Hinata and I were sitting on one of the benches off the to the side of all the guests who were dancing in the middle, the members of Kankerou, Gaara, and Matsuri's gang all grinding against each other seductively. Sasuke and Naruto were standing behind us, hands resting on the back of the bench, as they let two boys from Kankerou's team take over their firework display, which wasn't as amazing as when they did it, I had to admit. They'd invited me and Hinata to stand nearby and watch as the two ran around, laughing recklessly, lighting different bundles of the colorful bombs.

Neji stood behind TenTen as she sat next to me. Ino was standing off in front of the bench. "Hey, did you get my dress dirty TenTen?" Ino demanded suddenly.

"Huh? I don't think so." She looked down at herself and grimaced. "Um…"

"Let me see…" Ino ordered, standing in front of TenTen and dusting off the dust on her short blue dress. "Now take off the jeans." TenTen sighed and stood, removing her jeans from under her dress, handing them to Ino, as Neji, Naruto, and Sasuke turned away immediately even though there wasn't anything to see. Ino grinned. "That's better, girl! You're so cute!"

TenTen just stuck her tongue out of the corner of her mouth and sat again, crossing her legs as Ino threw the jeans off to the side carelessly. Just then, a slow song struck onto the stereo, and all the couples cheered and rushed together to sway slowly to the soft music.

Naruto and Hinata both stiffened, and suddenly Naruto walked around and smiled nervously, holding out a hand. "Uh…Wanna dance, Hinata-chan…?"

Hinata blushed crimson, but she smiled and nodded, taking his hand. He led her away, and TenTen, Ino and I all stared at them, mouths dropping open. Then we all turned to each other and screamed girlishly.

"Oh my gosh, do you think-?" TenTen asked.

"I think so, he really does-!" I cried.

"That is so great, I can't believe-!" Ino squealed.

"_So kawaii_!" all three of us shrieked.

**H**i**n**a**t**a

It was shy at first. Just arms around each other, neither of us making eye contact. The music was _Tameiki_ by Yumi Shizukusa, slightly eerie but still beautiful. Soon enough, my head was laid on his chest and his arms were even tighter around me, and I tried not to blush, trying to focus on the music.

"U-Uh…Hinata…I'm sorry, this is gonna be really sudden, but I have to ask you a question…It's really important." Naruto said suddenly, quietly.

I looked up at him. '_Oh no…I know what's coming…_' I thought nervously as he took a deep breath, eyes closed. Then his eyes snapped open and stared right into mine, and I blushed. '_He's always so happy. So carefree. What would I give to be like him…To feel happiness like he does…_' I thought sadly. Then I thought it through and smiled a bit. '_If I'm…__**with**__ him, I __**will**__ be able to feel that, won't I? I just have to be confident._' I swallowed hard. '_No matter what, I __**will**__ be confident...for you, Naruto-kun…_'

"Naruto…" I said quietly.

"Hinata…Will you-?"

I cut him off then and there with my lips.

**T**e**n**T**e**n

"Hey guys, have you seen Hinata and Naruto?!" Temari asked excitedly as she walked over, Shikamaru's arm around her shoulder. Matsuri came next, a huge smile on her face, clutching Gaara's arm, who looked annoyed.

Sakura scoffed. "Of course! We've been observing them the entire time!"

"It's true!" Ino said happily.

Matsuri giggled as she and Temari let go of their boyfriends, who stood with Sasuke and Neji behind the bench, and stood in front of me and Sakura with Ino. "That's exactly what I'd expect from you all." Matsuri said, smiling. "I guess sooner or later I'll start getting overprotective too, you guys are all so adorable!"

"I know, right?!" Ino squealed.

Temari, Sakura and I all rolled our eyes and said, "Whatever." under our breaths.

I sighed as they all got caught up in some girly conversation, the boys getting into their own, and my eyes strayed over to Hinata and Naruto again.

I jumped to my feet, smacking Matsuri's arm accidentally and not caring. Everyone, even the boys, stopped talking and watched me as I gaped.

"What?" Sakura asked, and she looked over as well, then jumped to her feet.

"Ohhhh…!" Matsuri cried gleefully.

"Oh my god…!" Ino and Temari chanted slowly.

It was silent.

"OH MY _GOD_!" Sakura and I screamed.

Hinata and Naruto were kissing, arms around each other in the middle of the dance floor. Sakura and I grabbed hands and jumped around in a circle screaming and squealing at the top of our lungs, and soon the other three girls joined us eagerly, all of us hugging and shrieking inaudible words as the boys just stared at us, confused.

"We told you!" Sakura shouted, pointing at Neji and Sasuke, but I pounced on her and we shared a huge hug before Ino swung in and hugged us, and we all started jumping again.

I saw Hinata and Naruto part out of the corner of my eye and smile at each other, then embrace slowly, and I grinned as Ino, Matsuri, and Temari all started applauding them from a distance and Sakura grabbed Sasuke's arm ecstatically. I turned and beamed at Neji.

"Aren't you happy for them?!" I asked happily.

He blinked, then sighed and smiled. "If you are, I am." he said quietly.

I stared at him, surprised, then smiled right back. "Same here."

I turned to watch Naruto and Hinata, saying something to each other with smiling faces, as Sasuke argued with Sakura playfully, and Temari, arm around Shikamaru, Matsuri, holding onto Gaara's hand, and Ino, bothered Gaara and Shikamaru, who were looking a little amused, and Neji put a hand lightly on top of my head.

'_Yeah…I don't think I've ever been happier in my entire life…_'

Of course, I had to wonder…

How long would it last…?

**X**X**X**X**X**

waaaaaaaaaaaah! NaruHinaaaaa! LOL, so speaking of storms, apparently some of Ike turned into a tropical storm and hit Michigan. And the thing is, we already had a really bad storm going on that was shaking up lake Michigan like sparkling water fizzing out of a bottle! (literally, you should see it!) So Ike made freinds with our storm and and gave me trouble as I walked to school Monday morning. And also, there's supposed to be another storm tomorow morning as well. I hope I don't get struck by lighting. Wish me luck! XO  
Re-Read and Edited while listening to: the NaruHina song of the chapter, _Tameiki_ by _Yumi Shizukusa_!  
Reviews! 590 pretty please? :D  
thanks for reading!  
xmarachanx


	17. Gems

Hey guys!  
Wow, long time, right? Well, thanks so much to:  
SelfishLly.Awesome, xXxKimakoxXx, totalnarutofangirl85, Sasu-Saku-cherryblossom, Sunny Soul, XxkIkIrOxX, kimiko77, Jackie, Pnkrockninja101, UcHiHaHyUuGa, DarkAnimeAngel13, Violet-Nightfall-Cullen20, SMOKe13, ChickenBuck, Kyra-Mitsu, Nerd4eva, mangamaniacgurl, Tilders, SparkyCasper, Music 1s my s0ul, MidniteCurse4Eternity, Kick -Assing -Kunoichi, Chigiri Sasaki, timcampy101, o.O, Seesay, ShikalllTema, Dreaming101, siny, anthropomorphichybrid, ShinobiXAngel, Shenhui, naruto.luv.llamas  
Enjoy!

**X**X**X**X**X**

**H**e**a**r **N**o **E**v**i**l  
_See no evil. Speak no evil._

**D**i**s**c**l**a**i**m**e**r: Oh emm eff gee, I don't own Naruto. :)  
**S**o**n**g: _Summer Song_ by _Fall Out Boy_. :)

C**h**. **S**e**v**e**n**t**e**e**n **- Gems and Men

_We can fake it for the airwaves  
Force our smiles, baby, half dead  
From comparing myself to everyone else around me  
_

**x**x**x**x**x**

Ino could still remember, as she sat out on the front porch, the party's music blasting in rhythmic booms from the backyard, when she made those necklaces. She made them for Temari, Matsuri, and even TenTen, Sakura and Hinata.

Gems. They were the gems in their boys' eyes. Neji, Sasuke, Naruto, Shikamaru, Gaara…would see them as their own precious stones. Irreplaceable. That's why she made each necklace with stones for all five girls.

And that's why she did not set a stone in her own. Because she knew she was going to be left out forever, and it was only a matter of time before she left them for good.

She looked up at the stars, the cold cement stinging through the thin fabric of her dress. "It's about time…" she whispered to the sky. The moon hovered there behind a small layer of opaque, grey cloud, as if staying there just to listen to her words. "But how much longer is that?" she contradicted herself suddenly. "How much longer will I have to fake my laughter? How much longer will I have to spend as much time as I can with my friends, my only friends, the only people that actually cared about me…? How much longer will I have to be faced with the burden that these are my last moments with them…?"

She fingered the smooth metal of her necklace.

"How much longer will they even care about me…?"

**x**x**x**x**x**

Temari stood off to the side of the dance floor with Matsuri, TenTen, and Sakura. She watched as Shikamaru walked away slowly, slipping into the shadows through the wooden gate without a word.

'_Where's he going_?' She thought to herself. She looked around. '_And where's Ino really? She said she was going to the bathroom. What's wrong with her? She looked like she was going to start crying…_' Temari bit her lip, concentrating, wondering…

'_What's wrong with my friends…?_'

"Ne, Temari, somethin' the matter?" Matsuri asked happily as Sakura and TenTen suddenly started measuring themselves against the amused Neji and Sasuke. Hinata and Naruto were off to the side, sitting on a bench and talking with big happy smiles on their faces, comfortable with each other for once.

Temari shook her head, grinning automatically. "No, nothing's wrong!" she said carelessly. AS Matsuri smiled and nodded, thought not looking quite convinced, and walked away, Temari turned her face to the sky.

"Nothing's wrong at all…right…?"

**x**x**x**x**x**

Shikamaru stared warily at the enemy in front of him. He felt like he shouldn't have even gone, but the anonymous text he'd received telling him to go out the back gate could not be ignored in his line of business. He was suddenly wondering if Temari was alright. That maybe he should have stayed, or brought her with him. He hated lying to her, not telling her things. Sneaking off, hoping she couldn't see…

"What do you want?" Shikamaru asked slowly.

'_I thought we were supposed to be with each other no matter what…_'

But apparently, that would only make things worse if Temari came when the young woman in front of him lowered her eyelids seductively, her perfect, round lips curving into a satisfied smirk.

"You, Shika-kun…" she cooed.

Triumphant, as if she had won already.

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes. "If I tell you to leave me alone, what will you do?"

She only giggled sickeningly. "Oh, your girlfriend's so pretty, isn't she?" Shikamaru stiffened when he saw a glint from her pocket as she removed something small, black, cold, metal. The girl licked her lips, moistening them so the dark red lipstick glinted in the moonlight. "Tall, skinny, blonde. Just like a model. So many boys like her, but you were lucky enough to get her, huh?" She gave a low chuckle, then smiled menacingly. "Imagine…your luck running out…Your _Temari_ leaving this world…"

Shikamaru swallowed hard. "So…you're finally resorting to that method?" he asked hoarsely. "I guess I was waiting for it to happen…I should have expected dirty shit like this." He hissed a curse under his breath, knowing he'd been caught. Temari came before everything. He had to protect her, even if he was hurting her. At least she was alive. She was all that mattered…

"…God damn me…" he whispered to the sky, then turned back to the wretched woman, who just stood there calmly, shifting her weapon from side to side.

"What do I have to do…?"

**x**x**x**x**x**

Matsuri was still scared. After everything that had happened in Karin and Ami's hideout not too long ago, the very _reason_ they were even _having _this party, she was terrified. And it wasn't for her own sake. It was for so many people.

Ino was number one on her list, she knew as she sat next to Gaara, her head on his shoulder and his head on top of hers, his arm around her waist tightly and his other hand holding her own on his lap, watching the firework display. Ino was the reason they were taken to Karin and Ami's hideout, and Matsuri knew it, because when they'd grabbed her and Ino from their bed then proceeded to spreading the fake blood around as they tied them up in ropes and gagged them, she could clearly remember Karin saying into her cell phone, "Alright, Sai, we got Ino and another girl that was with her. We'll check out Yamanaka's abilities like you said. You'd better give me that damn money you promised."

Matsuri hadn't bothered asking Ino about it, because she knew Ino would just lie. Just like she was faking every smile she made at the moment. As if it was her last few moments with the girls and she was trying to spend them wonderfully.

Number two on her list were three girls from her own gang. They were not answering any of her calls or texts, and no one else had seen or heard anything from them. She tried not to be too concerned, tried to let them live their own lives, but it was hard when she knew something was going on right underneath everyone's noses, and it wasn't good.

Things were happening…

"Gaara-sama…?" she whispered, speaking his name with the honorable suffix she stuck there, just because she admired and loved him so much.

"Yes?"

"Do you…feel it too…?"

Her boyfriend was silent, then he slowly raised her hand and pressed the back of it to his lips, showing the rare sign of affection for his small brunette lover, and when his lips parted he said, "Yes." after a while.

"Everyone does."

**S**a**k**u**r**a

"Huh, you really _are_ tall, Neji." TenTen said, standing on her toes and patting his head. He frowned and removed her hand, glancing down at her.

"No, I'm average. Just taller than Uchiha."

"Only cause you're older than me, Hyuuga, don't go feeling all high and mighty."

"Hey, now that I think about it, why am I up to your shoulder, Neji, but Sakura's up to Sasuke's chin?!"

"Either I'm tall and Sasuke's short, or Neji's tall and you're short." I said, grinning and poking Sasuke's arm.

"Hey, I'm tall, not short! It's the other way around!" TenTen snapped.

"I am _not_ short, alright? Can you two get over height issues already?" Sasuke demanded, frowning.

"You're getting way too into it!" Neji said, nodding.

TenTen and I just giggled, and the boys frowned. Eventually Hinata came up to us with Naruto, the two holding hands. TenTen and I both froze and watched as Naruto let go of her hand and grinned at Sasuke and Neji.

"Hey, how's the beer? I'm not having any, by the way, just wondering, you kno-'"

"What the hell is up with you?!" Neji and Sasuke both yelled suddenly.

Naruto blinked. "What are you talking about?"

"You little freak! You don't even tell us who you're hitting on?!" Sasuke asked, frustrated.

"You gave us no clues and suddenly you go pulling my cousin off to the side and kissing her! What do you _think_ we're talking about?!" Neji said angrily.

Hinata just giggled. "TenTen, Sakura…? You're both a little frozen."

The boys stopped arguing and watched TenTen and I staring at Hinata, then we both pounced on her, hugging her tight. "You are so cute!" TenTen squealed.

"I love you!" I cried.

Hinata just laughed happily from between our arms, squeezing her. "I love you too, you guys, but you're sort of suffocating me…"

**T**e**n**T**e**n

"Morning Ino, Temari." I said happily as they walked into the kitchen. Hinata was making breakfast for everyone, something that smelled deliciously like chocolate chip muffins.

"Are you sober, Ino?" Sakura asked warily.

Ino giggled. "Of course! Why, what did I do last night?"

She sighed. "Well, aside from almost raping Kiba then telling TenTen she looked just like a cute little panda…which, in case you're wondering, is why you have holes in you like a pincushion…nothing drastic."

Ino just smiled. "Ah, yes, that's me drunk, isn't it…?"

"_Yes_, it _is_." Temari muttered. She looked around. "Hey, where's everyone else?"

"Ah, they told us they're having a 'manly meeting' that Shikamaru held, which he said only _men_ could attend…" Sakura said. "They're out on the front lawn for some reason."

"TenTen got into an argument with them that lasted quite a while before Neji-nii-san told her to stop." Hinata said with a giggle, checking on the food in the oven and setting the timer again.

"It's bull." I muttered. "Girls should be able to attend it too. Sexist idiots…"

Temari laughed. "Oh, can one of you do me a favor?"

"Sure, I will." I said.

"Sweet. I just got a text from Kiba that I think Shikamaru would love to see, it's hilarious. Can you hand him my cell phone and tell him to read it?" She handed me her skinny red razor cell phone.

I smiled and nodded. "Kay!" I left the room and crossed through the living room, then opened the front door. "Hey, Shikamaru, Temari wants to show you-" I was cut off at the sight before me. All the boys were in the front lawn, standing around, with annoyed looks on their faces, Shikamaru and a girl _holding hands_ with him. Him! _Temari's_ boyfriend! Shikamaru's face couldn't be seen, because as soon as I came out, he stared at the ground. He looked frustrated, but…

"You're cheating on Temari with Tayuya?!" I shouted loudly, pointing at Shikamaru accusingly.

Neji sighed. "TenTen, quiet down, everyone'll hear you…"

"No! You all knew about it too, didn't you?!" I yelled at Neji, suddenly furious. "I can't believe you! And Shikamaru…You had Temari, _Temari_! Do you have any idea how much I look up to her?!" Everyone was silent, and my hands balled into fists. "And here you are holding hands with a _whore_!"

Tayuya scoffed. "Ex_cuse_ me…?" she whined. "You're such an annoying brat, yet you dare say something about _me_ like that?"

"_Did I ask you to talk_?" I growled. I felt the cell phone in my fists and held it up, then smirked. "Aha…So this _is_ a picture phone." I said. I held up the phone and snapped a shot of the couple.

"What are you doing?" Tayuya sneered as Shikamaru stared at me in surprise. "Just who do you think you are?"

"Paparazzi." I responded simply with a smirk. "Look pretty for the camera, bitch."

"Ugh! I'm out of here." Tayuya snapped. "See you later…_Shika-kun_…" she simpered, kissing him on the cheek. I quickly got a shot of that too.

"Hm. That one's even better." I muttered as she walked away, swinging her hips. "Right, _Shika-kun_?"

Neji sighed. "TenTen, would you just-?"

"_You_ can shut up. I can't believe I ever trusted you, or _any _of you." Neji ran a hand through his hair, looking frustrated and ashamed. Shikamaru, meanwhile, was staring at the ground, his hands balled into fists. I snorted. "Yeah, you'd _better _look guilty. Temari's gonna be crushed, and it's gonna be all your fault. Just wait till I show everyone this picture."

"What picture, hun?"

I jumped in surprise when Sakura spoke and stared as she and Hinata walked from behind me and took the phone from me and looked at the picture. Hinata gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. "How could you do this to Temari-chan?!" she cried, horrified.

"A-Ah, Hinata-chan, I'm sorry!" Naruto said quickly.

"No you're not." I said. When Hinata and Sakura gave me confused looks, I turned to them and explained. "They knew about it, every single one of them."

Sakura stiffened. "Oh, you're gonna _die_ today…" she said menacingly. I noticed the evil aura surrounding her and backed away a bit. "_No one_ cheats on our friends without turning into TenTen's pincushion or _my damn meat puppet_!"

"Oh shit…" I said, breaking the silence. Next thing I knew, I was trying my best to hold back Sakura as she attempted to attack Shikamaru.

"Dumbass! You don't know how lucky you were!" she yelled.

"Sakura, stop, you'll be charged for murder! Or battery! Or _worse_!" I cried desperately, pulling her back.

"I don't give a shit!"

"You will when you're in jail!"

"I don't care _now_! I'll slit his throat! You hear that, Shikamaru?! You cheated on Temari with a _slut_! What are you gonna tell her, huh?!" Suddenly, Sakura stopped struggling. "Oh no…How are we gonna tell Temari?"

I blinked, then sighed in relief, letting go of her. "Yes! Think of Temari!...And don't try that again, you nearly killed me…"

"Tell Temari what?" Ino suddenly skipped into the room and saw the cell phone in Sakura's hand. "Oh, did you show Shikamaru that text Temari told you to show him, TenTen?" She snatched the phone from Sakura's hands before Sakura could protest, and she stared at it. "What's this picture…?" She squinted, then her mouth dropped open and she stared in shock at Shikamaru, looking horribly disappointed. "Shikamaru! I thought better of you!" she said as he turned his face away.

Then suddenly she and Sakura both cracked their knuckles.

"Oh _shit_!" I groaned. Yet again, I was holding Sakura back, and now I was also trying to hold Ino back. "Guys, stop! You're gonna rip my arms off, quit it! Oww! Stop! Think of Temari!" I shrieked.

"What about me, Ten?"

I dropped Sakura and Ino in surprise, who both halted and stared at her.

"…Oh shit…" I whispered weakly one last time. Temari just raised an eyebrow.

In a flash, Shikamaru was on his way out of the room. Temari blinked and caught his hand, and he halted, almost in spite of himself. "Hey, what's wrong?" she asked, concerned. Shikamaru looked back over his shoulder at her, his eyes literally screaming, 'I'm so sorry', then he wrenched his hand from hers and walked away swiftly. She stared after him. "Shikamaru…?" He closed the door behind him quickly. Temari turned back to everyone. "What's going on?"

"U-Umm…" I said.

It was silent, then Ino cried, "Girl talk!" and she pushed Temari inside and motioned for the rest of us to follow her with the cell phone that still held the picture. Hinata apologized shortly to Naruto and we all hurried after them.

**x**x**x**x**x**

"I can't believe it." Temari sobbed into her hands. Everyone - except Shikamaru - was in the living room. The girls were crammed onto one sofa. Temari was on the edge, Ino hugging her from her left, then me, Sakura, and Hinata, in that order, the boys across from us on the other sofa, watching us but saying nothing. "I was so stupid." Temari continued. "I should have known. But…But he wasn't acting any different, he wasn't giving away any clues…!" It was silent as she calmed herself and stopped crying.

"…I loved him, you know." she whispered suddenly. "And I thought he loved me back…But I guess I was just being an idiot. He chose a whore over me." I bit my lip, and she continued. "I just…don't deserve anyone, do I?"

And that hit the nail on the hammer.

Sakura and I both stood and slammed our hands on the coffee table in front of us with a gigantic bang that echoed through the room. "Temari, I already told Shikamaru! He doesn't know how damn lucky he is!" Sakura snapped.

"Come on, Temari! Men are all selfish pigs! Who needs them?!" I said. Neji coughed and I gave him a glare.

"…I needed Shikamaru…" Temari sniffed.

Sakura pounded the coffee table again. "Pull yourself together!" she cried.

"You're a girl, not a play toy!" I said, nodding. "Show him what women are really made of!"

"And don't think of yourself so badly, Temari-chan." Hinata said sweetly. Everyone stared at her as she smiled at Temari warmly. "You're beautiful. Girls all over the school envy you. Everyone says you should be a model. You're strong and confident. You're TenTen's idol too."

I grinned and waved at her, and she gave a small wet laugh. Ino beamed. "Right! We're _all_ better than men! So let's say we show them!" she declared as Sakura and I sat back down.

"…Wait, what are you getting at…?" I asked.

"C'mon, you know." Ino said. "What do girls everywhere do when a boy's cheated on one of them?!"

Sakura, Hinata and I all suddenly laughed and chanted, "Girls' night out!"

"Right!" Ino cheered. "We can go to the mall and dress each other up in completely slutty, expensive outfits that we'll never buy and just rent for the night!"

"Then we'll go out dancing and turn down every single guy that asks us out and laugh at their faces when they walk away!" Sakura cheered.

"Then we'll go home and stay up till one in the morning eating three tubs of Ben and Jerry's ice cream while watching nightmare inducing movies in the dark!"

"That's my favorite part!" Ino squealed as Sakura and I beamed happily.

"Pfft. Girls are weird." Sasuke muttered.

"You're damn right." Sakura growled, narrowing her eyes at him. "And what are _guys_, TenTen?"

"Bo-ring!" I sang, waving my hand. "Look at them just sitting there. Pathetic! Right, Temari?"

Temari just stared at us in silence before bursting out laughing. "I love you guys!" she cried through peals of giggles.

I grinned. "Ne, ne, Ino, Sakura, Hinata, I think it worked, look how happy she is!"

"Girls' night out it is!" Sakura cried, jumping to her feet. "O-kay! Temari, let us handle everything! Tonight you're gonna be the hottest girl in Konoha! I call hair!"

"Oh, I get nails!" I said, raising my hand.

"I get makeup, then!" Hinata volunteered happily.

"Then I get clothes! Woo!" Ino cheered, jumping to her feet. "Tonight we're gonna forget all about guys!"

Hinata just giggled. "Gomen, Naruto-kun." He just gave her a grin and a wave of his big hand.

"Ah, it's okay. Go have fun. Ne, Sasuke, Neji, let's go to Kiba's place."

"I'm driving." Neji said automatically.

"Shot gun." Sasuke said as the two stood and crossed out of the room.

"Ah, you jack asses! _I_ was the one that suggested it in the first place!" Naruto shouted, running after them.

**S**a**k**u**r**a

"We're home!" Ino and Temari sang as they danced into the living room together cheerfully. Hinata, TenTen and I walked in after them, Hinata closing the door behind her. It was late at night, now, and we'd gotten back from our long, slightly campy, 'Girls' night out' that we'd enjoyed nonetheless. Naruto Sasuke and Neji were in the living room, playing cards on the ground. TenTen smiled and bounded over, kneeling next to Neji.

"What's this?"

"Poker." he responded with a small smile in her direction before turning back to his cards.

"Ah, I wouldn't be surprised. You and Sasuke must be pretty good with poker faces." I said, giggling.

"Not really." Neji said with a straight face.

"Why's that?" I asked.

"Sasuke sucks at this."

"Why?" Hinata asked as Ino and Temari bounced onto a sofa.

Sasuke suddenly started snickering into his hand. It looked like he was having trouble holding it back. Neji smirked. "Because Uchiha, for whatever reason, always starts _laughing_ when he has a-"

"Okay, okay, you win, Hyuuga!" Sasuke yelled, frustrated as he threw the cards into the air and Naruto and Neji both started laughing as he crossed his arms grouchily. I giggled.

"Aww, that's cute, you can't lie!" I said to him.

He frowned. "Of course I can lie!...I just can't in poker…I don't know why I always start laughing, damn it!"

"It's a body's habit when you're keeping something in to let it out in some ways. Too many emotions bottled up inside at once is unhealthy." I said logically.

"What, will your brain explode?" TenTen asked sarcastically, raising an eyebrow.

"Maybe, if you're too stressed and you pop a blood vessel with the strain of it." I said.

That shut her up.

"So how was your what's-it-called thing tonight?" Sasuke asked as he sat on another sofa with Naruto as TenTen helped Neji clean up the cards.

"_Awesome_!" we all chanted. Neji and Naruto chuckled as Sasuke smirked a bit.

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom and wipe my makeup off, kay?" Temari asked, and she rushed away.

"I'll go get a horror movie for us to watch!" Ino said right after that. "Be right back!" she hurried after her.

As soon as they were gone, TenTen, Hinata and I all exchanged a dark glance.

"What's wrong?" Neji asked, noticing.

"Where's Shikamaru?" TenTen asked quietly, all cheerfulness lost.

Sasuke sighed. "He's staying at Lee's today…"

"…Good…" I said quietly, sitting at the sofa opposite Sasuke. Hinata and TenTen sat on either side of me. "I hope he stays there for a long time."

Neji sighed as he sat next to Naruto, shuffling the cards and stuffing them back into their case. "You know there's a good reason he did that."

"Yeah, maybe Temari wasn't fulfilling his sexual needs." TenTen said loudly, and Hinata and I both laughed a bit. TenTen narrowed her eyes at them. "You wouldn't understand. You're not girls."

"…Well no kidding." Sasuke muttered.

"Shut up!" I snapped. "She means you don't know what it's like to be taken advantage of!" All three boys were silent.

"…Were any of you ever taken advantage of…?" Naruto finally asked quietly.

"Luckily enough no, but only because we've turned down every guy that's ever hit on us." I said stiffly.

"It's like you can't trust guys anymore." TenTen agreed. "Hinata, Naruto, you guys are lucky. Because Hinata trusts Naruto not to turn his back on her and go for someone else." Hinata and Naruto shared a look and blushed a bit, but smiled.

"I wish everyone had someone like that." I said sadly.

"I thought Temari did." TenTen muttered. "We _all_ thought she did. Hell, _she _thought she did…But apparently not. And now she thinks she's unwanted…"

"Well…you act like you know how she's feeling right now, but how can you if you've never experienced what she has?" Sasuke asked.

"_Because_ we're _girls_." TenTen said loudly. It was quiet. "We know what it's like to think that we _could_ be taken advantage of, and in so many ways. Men could take us away just like that." She snapped her fingers. "And there would be no penalty because that's what men do when they can't control themselves, isn't it?"

"They think they can use us like toys and personal property. But they never seem to think that maybe we have feelings." I said. "…Isn't that right?" I looked up at them. "You're men…You know…"

The boys' eyes all widened. Sasuke opened his mouth to say something but Ino and Temari both came back into the room. "Hey guys! We're gonna watch The Grudge! Oh, Sasuke, Neji, Naruto, you three can watch too if you want!"

I noticed Sasuke eyeing me the entire time. I frowned.

'_Something's happening, isn't it…?_' I thought as Ino turned down the lights and she and Temari rested on their elbows on the floor, sticking the DVD in. I fingered the red gem on my necklace that Ino had made me, the necklace that everyone who had one wore every day at all times, and let my thoughts focus elsewhere. But the thoughts that came to me sent chills down my arms…

'_How do I stop it…?_'

**X**X**X**X**X**

Ah, sorry if this chapter's a little boring. But just to let you know…ANGST is on the way! XD Ah, good old angst. Be prepared. :P Oh, by the way, GUESS WHAT! **Barack Obama** came to Detroit yesterday (Sunday) and he gave a speech and _I got to hear it_! I got to see him talking, live and in person! I'm sorry, but he is my _**idol**_! I was so excited to see _my next president_ actually _speaking_! Wah! YES.WE.CAN! (I'm such a nerd XD)  
Re-Read & Edited while listening to: _Mama Who Bore Me (Reprise)_ from _Spring Awakening_. :D  
reveiws? erm, how about (ohmygosh) 630…? :O  
thanks for reading!  
xmarachanx


	18. Falling Apart

Ola! (I'm passing Spanish this year. XD)  
Thanks so much to the following: (Gracias tanto al siguiente: XD)  
SelfishLly.Awesome, Jackie, totalnarutofangirl85, ShikalllTema, XxkIkIrOxX, SMOKe13, Kyra-Mitsu, The Laughing Phoenix, mangamaniacgurl, ShinobiXAngel, SparkyCasper, Nerd4eva, Tilders, RisingTwinDragons93, xXxKimakoxXx, Sasu-Saku-cherryblossom, Sunny Soul, naruto.luv.llamas, MidniteCurse4Eternity, kimiko77, Dreaming101, RedMapleLeaf, Youkai Koneko, UcHiHaHyUuGa, Hikoru, Aniki, Pnkrockninja101, Herbblade, Uchiha, Nami, Shenhui, Once Upon A Time In Love, Maya-chan2007  
Goce! (That means 'Enjoy!' in Spanish! woohooo! booyaaaa, in yo face, bitches, I'm passing Spanish this year, for once! wanna know the story behind it? kay, so last year I had an evil devil teacher, seriously, she was a Diablo…which is devil in Spanish, hardy-har-har…and she hated me, but this year she loves me! yeah-yuh!) Ok, Ok, I'll stop…  
Enjoy!

**X**X**X**X**X**

**H**e**a**r **N**o **E**v**i**l  
_See no evil. Speak no evil._

**D**i**s**c**l**a**i**m**e**r: Oh emm eff gee, I don't own Naruto. :)  
**S**o**n**g: _Summer Song_ by _Fall Out Boy_. :)

C**h**. **E**i**g**h**t**e**e**n - Falling Apart

_Please put the doctor on the phone 'cause I'm not making any sense  
Blame everyone but me for this mess  
And my back has been breaking from this heavy heart  
We never seemed so far_

**x**x**x**x**x**

"So it's finally time." Ino whispered as she stared out at her friends. "It's really happening…"

TenTen was on one of the sofas with Neji, her head on his shoulder, his head on top of hers. It was like they were already a couple, but of course both of them were in denial. Naruto and Hinata, however, were not. They were on one of the chairs, Hinata gathered in Naruto's arms, both of them sitting up and sleeping cutely. Temari was sleeping, laying across the other sofa, and Sakura was lounging over her legs.

Ino stood in the hallway leading into the leaving room, with a bag slung over her shoulders. She wore a tight black sweatshirt with the hood pulled over her head, jeans, and black sneakers for once. To blend in with the dark.

She smiled as Naruto gave Hinata a small squeeze in his sleep, and TenTen sighed a bit, making Neji frown. She remembered Sakura and Sasuke, so flirtatious and competitive at the same time last night as they quarreled over the movie.

She bit her lip. "Temari…" she whispered, staring at her good friend lying on the sofa, a small sad frown on her face. "Is this your first night here without Shikamaru? How are you living…?"

Ino shook her head. '_I can't do this._' she thought desperately as tears stung the backs of her eyes. '_Just staring at them and crying isn't going to help anything._'

But she looked at them, just for a little longer, before saying finally, "Bye…"

She turned around.

"So you _are_ leaving after all, aren't you?"

Ino jumped and resisted the urge to scream. She twisted around and stared at Sakura. "Sakura…"

"What are you doing?" Sakura whispered, her green eyes flashing in the dark menacingly. "Where are you going? And tell the truth."

Ino gazed at Sakura in shock, and then she knew:

'_There's no harm now…_'

**S**a**k**u**r**a

Ino bit her lip, then sighed.

"I'm going to Sai's team."

"Wh…What…?" I gasped. I couldn't believe it. '_Ino walks into the living room and wakes me up, and now she's…she's saying…__**this**__?!_'

"I'll be treated better on his team. Get more money. More cars. Stronger." Ino chanted, no emotion whatsoever on her face yet not looking me in the eye. "I won't be hampered down by anyone. We've made a mutual agreement. I ditch your team for him."

"I…Ino…" I said softly. "Why? I thought you-"

"Whatever you thought was wrong. I'm leaving." Ino interrupted me.

I felt my heart race. '_No. I'm here. I can actually stop it! Sasuke, watch…I'm not gonna let you down this time!_'

"No you're not." I said darkly, and, taking a deep breath and mustering up my courage, I grabbed her arm before she could move and twisted her around so I was standing in front of her, narrowing my eyes. "I'm not letting you."

Ino stared at me, a flicker of shock running through her ice blue eyes, then looked at the floor. "I thought so…" I saw her hand move in her sweatshirt pocket and blinked, relaxing distractedly. Then she looked up at me again and my attention was brought back to her face…which was suddenly so sad… "Sorry, Sakura…" she whispered.

My eyes widened when there was a flash of black that she whipped from her pocket.

"What-?!"

But there was suddenly a searing hot pain running through my head and a loud thump. Colors swam before my eyes and the pain was unbearable. I couldn't think. I couldn't even remember who I was.

And soon enough there was the loud rumble of a motorcycle, and tears ran from my eyes with the thick warm feeling of blood trickling from my head.

'_I failed_.' was my last thought.

Then everything was black.

**T**e**n**T**e**n

"What happened?!" Hinata and I cried at the same time.

We'd both flung ourselves from Neji and Naruto and kneeled in front of Sakura at the same exact moment when we'd woken up the next morning to the sun hitting our eyelids and seen her lying on the ground, blood coming from her head.

Sakura woke and groaned, but she sat up immediately, showing it wasn't serious.

"What the hell?!" Sasuke asked, staring at her as everyone else woke up. "Sakura, what happened to you?!"

"I don't…" she mumbled. Then her eyes widened. "Ino…_Ino_!" She flung her arms up so she could turn around, hitting me in the head in the process.

"Ouch! What the fuck did you hit me for?!"

"Shut up, TenTen, this is serious! Ino's…Ino's…!"

"Sakura, it's okay." Hinata said quietly, and me and her helped Sakura to her feet as the others all stood as well, confused. "Calm down and tell us slowly what happened."

"And what's up with Ino…where is she…?" Temari asked, looking around.

Sakura bit her lip, and tears came from her eyes. "I couldn't stop her!"

**H**i**n**a**t**a

"I don't understand! Why?! Why the hell would she do something like this?!" Temari cried.

Sakura had finally convinced us all what had happened last night. Shikamaru had come back after he heard the news from Sasuke, but he avoided conversation and he and Temari completely ignored each other. Everyone was squashed into the healing room. Sakura was icing her bleeding head. Sasuke was pacing back and forth, his hands in his hair, looking as if he hadn't had sleep in years.

"I told you, she said she'd be treated better and she was sick of all the things happening recently." Sakura said glumly as she sat on the bed.

"But when did she and Sai decide this?!" Temari snapped. "How did they make this deal?!"

"No idea…" Sasuke gasped, seeming completely helpless and confused. "Maybe she was blackmailed…"

"No way. Ino wouldn't give in to blackmailing like that." Temari said harshly. "It had to be something else! God damn it! It's just something she'd do, though…! Ino, why…?!"

"It's not like she's gone yet, Temari, stay calm." Neji said simply. He was the only one that wasn't a centimeter away from losing his mind.

"Wait, you said she's not gone yet?" TenTen asked Neji, confused.

He looked at her. "In gangs you have to be gone and literally stay with the other gang two nights and one day to actually leave and be considered part of their gang. And to make sure you're supposed to injure a member of the gang as well, but people don't usually do that. Of course, Ino decided to actually do it…"

Sakura was listening with wide eyes. "But there's still a chance?" TenTen asked, not noticing.

"Yes, but Uchiha will probably have to consult with Kankerou and Gaara for help. We're in a tough situation." Neji said. "We've never had to deal with something like this before, being such a small gang." He rested his chin on his folded hands, elbows propped on his knees. "What I want to know is why Sai suddenly wanted her on his team…"

"Not suddenly." Shikamaru said suddenly. Everyone looked at him. Even Temari did, though out of the corner of her eye. He was reading some stats or something on his laptop. "According to the recordings of recent interferences of signals with her cell phone, she's been in touch with Sai since a couple weeks ago, and he's been trying to reach her for about two months now."

"…How the hell did we not know…?" Sasuke asked, eyes wide. "Damn it!"

"Calm down, Uchiha. She was good at hiding it." Neji said.

"She's always been good at hiding things." Temari whispered. "I knew she _was_ hiding something, for a long time, but she didn't give any clues about something like _this_…" Temari bit her lip as she sat down next to Sakura on the bed. "…I've just been ditched all over the place, haven't I?" she asked grimly with a bitter smile. Shikamaru looked down and closed his eyes.

I, however, smiled and sat next to her. "Temari. Just remember that you still have us." I said softly.

TenTen nodded. "Uh-huh! And you can always remember something that always makes us cheer up."

"What's that? Cause it's gotta work." Temari joked sadly.

Sakura laughed. "Well…Just remember that everything in life only lasts a while. Everything's only temporary. Take men's hair for instance. It's all gonna fall off when they're sixty." Neji and Sasuke both fingered their hair discreetly at that and coughed.

Temari looked up at her. "Okay, I admit, that kind of amuses me, but how's that supposed to cheer people up?"

TenTen grinned. "When things like this happen, you just have to remember that it's only temporary. Things will change for the better, Temari. Eventually. I promise."

Temari stared at her then smiled. "…Thanks…I guess I have something to look forward to, don't I? No matter how many bad things happen."

**x**x**x**x**x**

"Hinata-chan?"

I blinked and turned around. "Naruto-kun." I said, smiling. I was in the kitchen, scrubbing dishes. My heart beat a little faster when he entered. It was as if any time I was away from him I was suddenly so alone in the world, and every time I was with him I was the happiest person in the world.

He smiled. "Want help?"

I nodded with a small laugh. "Help would be nice."

He laughed a bit as well and took a dish from my hands, beginning to scrub it. I took another and started on it, and he looked sideways at me as he rolled his sleeves up to his elbows. "Hey…are you feeling what I'm feeling?"

I blinked. "…I don't know…" I admitted slowly.

His eyes sparkled. "Like…how everyone's leaving…" he said carefully. "Shikamaru…I promised I wouldn't tell you why, but he's only going along with Tayuya because-"

"Naruto, I don't…I don't want to hear it." I said suddenly, facing back to the sink.

He stopped. "…Sorry…" he whispered, and he truly sounded it.

That only made me feel worse. I closed my eyes and stopped, then took his hand under the sink water. "No, _I'm _sorry…" I said quietly. "It's just with everything that's been happening since I moved here…Well, I've joined a gang, of all things…I killed a girl…I-I've been skipping school for the past two days…And I…" I gulped, my eyes still closed. "I fell in love." I whispered. "And in less than a couple weeks I've felt both happier than I've ever felt, and more scared than I've ever been. It's so-"

I stopped talking when the feeling returned; that warm feeling flowing through my body from my lips. Naruto had silenced me with a kiss. I let him hold me with one hand when we parted, the other still gripping mine gently in the sink. "Hinata, it's okay." he said softly into my hair. "You can rely on me if you want. You can use me. I don't care. As long as you love me, and I love you, I don't care. But don't try to think too hard. Just let it happen." I felt my eyes tear up in spite of myself, and I rested my head beneath his neck in his chest.

"Then yes. I feel it too." I said, my voice tight. "I feel it too. And I think everyone does. Everyone can feel it. We know things are changing, just not if they're for better or for worse. And there's nothing we can do to stop it, is there? We don't even know what 'it' is. Just that something's going to happen, and we're helpless."

"That's not true." Naruto said quietly. "Trust me. Remember what you and TenTen were saying back there? It's gonna be okay, eventually. Maybe something bad will happen. Maybe it'll get in between us. Maybe me or you will be hurt badly. But no matter what, Hinata, I'll be there for you. I promise." I smiled as he rested his head on mine.

"And I never go back on my word."

**S**a**k**u**r**a

I sat yet again in the blackness of the living room.

The sounds of everyone's deep breathing proved to me that they were all sleeping. But this time there was one less breath. One less sleeping form. One less little sleepy giggle. One more empty seat at the table.

Ino wasn't here this time.

Of course…it wasn't like I couldn't stop her. She had to be gone a day and _two_ nights. If she stayed at Sai's till morning, she was his. But for now, she was still ours. The night wasn't over yet.

And so, feeling assured that everyone was asleep, I stood up slowly and reached behind the sofa I had been lounging on, waiting for everyone to finally doze off, and pulled out the beige bag I had hidden behind it earlier that day. Knowing what I was going to be doing the moment Neji provided me with the information I needed, not knowing what it would turn me into. That bag was my medical bag, and the bag I also kept my gun in. I had on the black sweat shirt, and I pulled the hood over my head, knowing my hair was a standout. I shouldered the bag and tiptoed my way through everyone's sleeping bodies.

I finally crept to the door and stopped. Something felt unsymmetrical.

The breathing was off.

I narrowed my eyes and concentrated. One, TenTen. Two, Hinata. Three, Neji. Four, Naruto. Five, Temari. Six…of course, Shikamaru, snoring away. But…

Was Sasuke missing?

"Where do you think you're going?!"

I jumped and almost screamed at the hand clamped onto my shoulder and I twisted around to face Sasuke.

I felt a bit relieved that he was still here, but…

"Wh…What-"

"Don't try to trick me." Sasuke interrupted me, putting both his hands on my shoulders firmly. "Or I'll physically force you to stay here, do you understand me?" I gulped and nodded, mesmerized by the angry look in his eye.

It was just like me…trying to stop Ino…

Sasuke frowned. "Now tell me where the hell you think you're going."

"…To find Ino…" I said quietly. Without hesitation. Not caring about the consequences. For once, I wasn't going to follow my own rules.

His eyes widened and he let go of me. "…Seriously…?"

I nodded, watching him as he turned away. I frowned. "But… But you can't force me to stay here!" I said a little louder, but not loud enough to wake everyone sleeping. "You can't force me to stay here no matter what. I'll stop you, whatever you do." He stared at me. "I don't care if you're my leader. I wouldn't care if you were my father or my older brother. I'm going to stop things this time. I'm sick of being insignificant. Always the helpless one, always in distress…Not anymore, got it?! I'm going to stop Ino from leaving us and I'm going to fix everything!"

"You _can't_, Sakura. Don't you see, it's _done_ for already!" Sasuke hissed. "You're new, you're not good enough yet! You can't make your way around in the dark anyways!"

"I'm smarter than you think!" I snapped, and his eyes widened. I lowered my voice. "I have a map of the city. I know where Sai's hideout is. I have a gun. I have medical equipment. I have bobby pins too pick locks. I have a flashlight. I have my strength. I can do _anything_." I said reassuringly. Sasuke turned away, back to me, and I sighed. "…_Please_…" I whispered. He just shook his head, and I crossed around him and put a hand to his face, forcing him to look down at me.

I noticed then that his cheek was smooth and cold and nice under my fingers.

"_Please_…" I whispered again, my eyes staring determinedly into his own. "I need to do this. I _need_ to. I can't sleep, I can't eat, until I know I'm not a burden anymore. Just like how I've lived my entire life. People get sick of me. I don't want that to happen anymore. Sasuke, _please_...let me go…"

Sasuke stared at me. "…You better be god damn careful." he whispered, his eyes wide as if he was hypnotized.

I smiled.

**H**i**n**a**t**a

The next morning, I was prepared to actually go to school. It was Thursday, and we'd missed the first three days of the week already. Not a good impression on the administration at all.

However, my plans were changed immediately…

"Where's Sakura?!" I was woken by TenTen's voice.

My eyes snapped open.

"_Everyone can feel it. We know things are changing, just not if they're for better or for worse."_

Little did I know things were about to get a lot, lot worse…

**X**X**X**X**X**

Simply put: angst. And, in the words of Hinata-chan, things are only gonna get worse. I'm serious, you'd better be prepared. You're gonna be in for a pretty grim story…I have a lot in store. XD OK, VOTE ON MY POLL PLEASE! On to other news: TELL YOUR PARENTS TO VOTE **OBAMA 08**! We're getting close to November 4th here, and Obama's ahead in the polls, but that doesn't mean he can't fall behind again! Let me make this very clear: _We need Obama. We can not afford to have McCain and Palin running our country when our economy in this state!_ That is all. :)  
Re-Read & Edited while listening to: _Poem of Sky and Sea _from the soundtrack of the movie _5 Centimeters Per Second_ :D  
REVIEW PLEASE! I would enjoy, erm, 650 maybeeeeee? -hopeful smile-  
thanks for reading!  
xmarachanx


	19. Disquietude

Hello everyone!  
_**Okay, first off, I'd like you all to know that I have a new one-shot collection up! PLEASE READ&REVIEW IT! thank you very much to all that already have. :D**  
_Second off, the story that won the poll was Your Typical Cliché Story! I'll put it up soon. but I hope you know what you're getting into (MAJOR Sakura and Ino bashing. also major SasuSaku bashing. but you voted for it, so…whatever, LOL)  
_**finally, thanks so much to the following:**_  
_**RedMapleLeaf, Uchiha, Nami, mangamaniacgurl, UcHiHaHyUuGa, Youkai Koneko, Jackie, Maya-chan2007, totalnarutofangirl85, Tobi-obsessed, Pnkrockninja101, kimiko77, Teera-chan, SMOKe13, RisingTwinDragons93, Tilders, Chigiri Sasaki, naruto.luv.llamas, xXxKimakoxXx, Hikoru, Aniki, ShikalllTema, SelfishLly.Awesome, Dreaming101, spRsxy**_  
Enjoy!

**X**X**X**X**X**

**H**e**a**r **N**o **E**v**i**l  
_See no evil. Speak no evil._

**D**i**s**c**l**a**i**m**e**r: Oh emm eff gee, I don't own Naruto. :)  
**S**o**n**g: _Summer Song_ by _Fall Out Boy_. :)

C**h**. **N**i**n**e**t**e**e**n - Disquietude

_I'm hopelessly hopeful,  
You're just hopeless enough  
But we never had it at all_

**T**e**n**T**e**n

_Disquietude: A state of uneasiness; feelings of worry and anxiety that make you irritable and edgy._

Homework…I was always bored of it until I came across that vocabulary word and looked it up. _That_ was a word I could connect to.

And as I glared curiously at the spot where Sakura had been the morning before, that was a word I could connect with more than ever.

**H**i**n**a**t**a

"TenTen…?" I asked, sitting up slowly. Naruto yawned and woke, and I felt his arms around me and turned to smile and kiss him awake lightly. I turned back to TenTen, who was walking into the living room and toweling her wet hair, wearing her school uniform, a worried expression on her face. Her shoes weren't on yet, and she had a moist look around her, so I assumed she'd taken a shower.

Neji woke up slowly and stared at her for a bit, blushing a little at the look but raising an eyebrow. "Something wrong…?" he mumbled sleepily.

"Yeah, Sakura's totally gone!" TenTen exclaimed. "I swear, if she got her ass kidnapped again I'll kill those bitches!"

"TenTen, calm down, I'm sure she's fine, wherever she is." I said, standing up. "She probably drove to get some homework she forgot, I mean we are going to school today."

"Oh, yeah, and she knows how to drive suddenly? And how to break the law?" TenTen asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That's right, you're the only one that can drive…" I sighed. "Then she walked…?"

"She's way too out of shape." TenTen remarked, waving her hand in the air and throwing the towel easily into the laundry basket.

Sasuke was awake now and looked uneasy. I watched him closely. "Sasuke…Do you know where she is…?" I asked carefully.

Sasuke jumped, startled, and grinned nervously. "Oh, um, yeah! Last night she said she missed her mom a lot and went to go see her. She'll be back soon."

TenTen raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?" Sasuke nodded, and TenTen pouted. "I can't believe she wouldn't take me and Hinata! I love Tsunade!"

"TenTen, she'd punch you in the stomach if you got less than a C- in math. You're _failing_ math." I pointed out.

She grinned. "Yeah, I know! The _right_ way to teach someone a lesson is kick their ass, that's what my dad always said!"

Neji shook his head. "You're actually going along with what your father says?" he asked her incredulously.

"She worships anyone that hits her at least once." I muttered. TenTen just laughed.

"Either way, Sakura could have taken us along too! I wouldn't have minded seeing home again…Jumping a couple kids, kicking that one dude that was hitting on me in the balls…Ha, good times…"

"Sakura didn't want you two to come alone. Wanted family time."

TenTen rolled her eyes. "Dude, that's why she should have taken us! Damn it, that brat's gonna get it when she gets back here! I wish I could _move_ back home sometimes…"

Temari pouted. "Hey!"

TenTen laughed. "Don't worry, I'd take you all with me! I'd pack you all into suitcases and when they asked what the hell you were in the metal detector I'd say you were pillows!"

Temari and Naruto both burst out laughing and I giggled. "Well, at least we know she's okay." I said, sighing in relief.

TenTen grinned. "And a wimp!"

**T**e**n**T**e**n

I was in a good mood.

I shouldn't have been, and I knew it. What with Sakura visiting Tsunade late notice because she couldn't take being away from her mommy anymore and the fact that both Ino and Shikamaru had betrayed the gang largely, I should have been depressed. Sasuke was depressed, after all. He wouldn't say a word the entire day. And he had this worried look on his face.

But I was doing my best to keep things cheerful. I felt like it was my job. Like I had to.

Because no one else would, could, or should.

The day passed easily. Shikamaru didn't come to school, so at lunch when I went in it was just me, Hinata, Temari, Naruto, Sasuke, and Neji. Temari and I played a complicated hand clapping game, which I lost three times in a row before she said her knuckles were hurting, then we listened to music together on her ipod as Naruto and Hinata talked off in a corner and Sasuke and Neji watched us with looks on their faces that gave away how idiotic we looked, dancing along to it happily.

After school was over we went back to the house, where Hinata and I would sleep over every day at till Sakura came back, did our homework (not really), and ate Hinata's fantastic dinner. Then, we went to sleep.

The next morning, though, I woke up with a frown. "I don't like it…" I said quietly when Neji asked me what was wrong as Temari drove us to school. "Sakura…I have a bad feeling about her."

"It's okay, I'm sure." he assured me, putting a hand reassuringly on my shoulder.

I smiled at him weakly but couldn't help but feel…scared…

**x**x**x**x**x**

"This is insane." I said, concerned.

It was next Monday. The rest of the week had passed the same, and over the weekend all we did was sit around the house watching movies and talking and waiting for Sakura. Now it was after school, and there was a bad feeling around the place. Every single day since she'd left I'd woken and spoken about my fears for Sakura. I insisted something wasn't right. No one listened.

Sakura still wasn't back. And she still hadn't called us like Sasuke told us she would.

"TenTen's right…" Hinata said quietly. "She would have called us as soon as she got to Tsunade's. Let's try her cell phone."

I nodded and took out my own and called hers. It rang, but it hit the automatic voice message. I hung up and narrowed my eyes. "She turned it off…"

"Don't panic. Try Tsunade." Hinata said, smiling.

"Kay." I started to dial, walking over to where Hinata was sitting, but suddenly there was a flash, and my cell phone was flying from my hands and crashed to the ground. I thumped to the ground next and groaned.

"What the hell, Uchiha, why'd you trip her like that?" Neji asked, sounding annoyed.

"Sorry, sorry." Sasuke said loudly. He sounded nervous.

I got to my knees and stared at the cell phone. It lay on the ground in pieces.

"Oh no…!" I squeaked. I turned to look at Temari, who's mouth had dropped open. "I'm so sorry!" I cried.

"Aww…I picked that one out myself!" she gasped.

"It's not your fault, it's this clumsy idiot's." Neji muttered, knocking Sasuke's head gently with his fist next to him, who smiled guiltily. "Besides, we didn't pay for it, we stole it. We can always get Naruto to steal another one."

"True." Naruto and Temari chanted. Hinata giggled.

I sighed. "Man…! I guess I'm just not allowed to have anything expensive in my life, am I?" I asked gloomily, standing and collecting the pieces. I threw them away in the trash in the kitchen and came back, sitting next to Hinata and examining the rug burn on my elbow with a frown. "Oh well…Hinata, you can call Tsunade."

Sasuke's eyes widened as Hinata pulled out her own cell phone. "Er…Hey, you guys, I forgot to tell you, Lee and Kiba are coming over again!" he said loudly.

Neji looked over at Sasuke. "Seriously? Nice, I wanted to see Lee for a while."

"Cool, I miss Kiba." Naruto said, grinning.

Hinata put her phone away and smiled when Naruto started a story for her about all the times he and Kiba had shared together. Hinata looked interested. I didn't want to interrupt them. But the idea of calling Tsunade was gone soon enough.

Sasuke looked relieved.

Shikamaru, meanwhile, was not present. No one knew where he was. No one discussed it. This is what had been happening for the past week.

**x**x**x**x**x**

"TenTen, sit down." Neji said, sighing.

It was just me and him in the living room. The others were in the basement watching a movie. We had been outside, training, and we were in for a break. But I was busy pacing back and forth. It was Wednesday. Days of school without seeing Sakura were like torture. The dullest days of my life.

"I can't sit!" I cried. "I'm thinking too hard! Where is she?! It's been a week! I wanna call Tsunade, I wanna talk to Sakura!"

Neji sighed again. "_TenTen, sit_." he ordered harshly.

I stopped walking and looked at him. There was a stern gaze in his eyes that said, 'I'm not taking anymore nonsense.' So I obeyed and sat next to him, pouting.

But his arm was around me suddenly, and I glanced up at him, surprised. He looked down at me, his eyes gentle. "It's gonna be alright. I promise. Just wait one more day. Tomorrow it'll be exactly a week. If she's not here by then I'll let you do what you want to find her, and help you out. For now, just relax. Alright?"

I stared at him for a while, then closed my eyes and looked away. "Fine." I said quietly.

"Try to get some sleep, alright?"

"Yeah, yeah…" But I wasn't going to let him give me that little display and get away with it point blank. I smiled and lay down, but set my head in his lap. He stiffened for a bit, shocked, but then I heard him laugh a bit and put his hands on my head.

**x**x**x**x**x**

Next morning, I woke up hopeful. I glanced up at Neji, but his eyes were a little downcast when he met my gaze. He shook his head. I knew, then, that Sakura wasn't back. I felt hopelessness crash through my and I sat up straight. I looked to my left and saw Hinata and Naruto sleeping in each other's arms on the other sofa, Sasuke asleep on one of the armchairs, and Temari in the other one.

They all woke up eventually and looked around sleepily for a bit, and I glared at the ground. I felt Neji's hand on my back, but I ignored him and stood. "Hinata."

She looked away from Naruto and up at me. "TenTen?"

"We're going."

"What?" Sasuke asked quickly, sitting forward, eyes wide.

"We're going." I repeated as I grabbed my bag. "We're not going to school today. Hinata, get your stuff."

Fortunately, Hinata didn't argue. She looked at Naruto and apologized quickly. He just kissed her and let her up, and she took her bag. Hinata and I got our shoes on, but before I could get to the door, Sasuke stood in our way. I glared at him.

"Move it." I snapped.

"I can't let you go." he said, glaring right back at me.

"You won't let us call her, you won't let us visit her! What's your problem?!" I demanded. Sasuke said nothing, and that struck the chord. "I said _move_!" I repeated, and I tried to push past him, taking Hinata with me.

Sasuke obviously wasn't intent to move.

I felt a sharp blow to my stomach and I was thrown backwards and to the ground. Hinata tripped and stumbled backwards, but Naruto got to her quickly and held her tight, gaping at Sasuke.

"Hey!" Temari cried, staring at me as Neji jumped to his feet.

"Uchiha!" he yelled, taking two strides over to me and helping me sit up. "What the fuck is wrong with you?!" he asked, fury in his eyes.

Sasuke looked guilty enough, so Neji softened his tone quickly, but I didn't. I stared at him. "Where…is Sakura really…?" I asked slowly.

Everyone in the room was silent as Sasuke looked at the floor. His hands finally balled into fists. "I…I wasn't supposed to tell anyone…I promised her…" he finally choked out softly.

My eyes widened. "_Where_?!" I yelled, jumping away from Neji and staring at him. "Where is she?! Tell me!"

"I don't know, alright?!" Sasuke finally shouted, stressed enough. "I thought…I thought she could handle herself! I thought she would be able to go after Ino like she said. I don't know where she is now, okay?!"

"You…You let her go after Ino?! Are you stupid?!" I cried. I was ready to hit him but Neji pulled me back.

"TenTen, stop." he said quietly. "Hitting him isn't going to help anything."

"He's right, TenTen." Hinata whispered. I relaxed at Neji's touch and let him hold me to him, calming me. I stared at the ground, feeling my eyes sting with tears.

"I can't let anything happen to her…" I said, my voice stressed with threatening tears. "I can't let her get hurt…"

"It's alright." Neji said softly. "She's probably fine."

"But if she's not…" I said, and I looked over Neji's arms to Sasuke. "If she's dead…I'll kill you. I promise." I declared furiously.

Sasuke didn't say anything. Neji started to speak, but suddenly Shikamaru ran into the room. Temari gave him a glare, but he ignored her, looking horrified. "Uchiha! I got a connection to Haruno's cell!"

"What?!" I ran from Neji, and Hinata ran over as well, gripping my arm eagerly.

"Where is she?! Is she alright?!" Hinata asked hurriedly. "Please say she is…!"

Shikamaru glanced at us and turned back to Sasuke slowly. "I…It's bad…"

"Wh…What?" Hinata stuttered.

"Uchiha…Someone's back…Someone I never thought would show his face again…"

"Wh…What are you talking about?" Sasuke asked slowly.

"Do you…remember Orochimaru…?" Shikamaru asked, looking scared.

Temari nearly fainted. Naruto roared, "No!" and Neji's mouth opened wordlessly. Sasuke literally stopped breathing for a second, then shook his head slowly.

"No…No, no, no…You have to be joking…!" he gasped.

Neji shook his head and cleared his throat. "Uchiha…You've done enough for today." He grabbed his gun from the coffee table and a couple knives. "Shikamaru, coordinates."

"I have them printed." Shikamaru said, handing a sheet to Neji.

"Alright. Naruto, get your gun and any weapon you can lay your hands on, you're coming with me. Temari, guard Sasuke, don't let him or TenTen or Hinata leave this house, understand?!" The two nodded slowly. "Shikamaru, contact everyone you can and let them know, even Karin and Sai's teams. Make sure everyone's in their hideouts and not outside, and tell them I'm handling things from here on out. Move, _now_!" Shikamaru obeyed and was gone in a flash. I gulped. I'd never seen Neji like this. It was almost attractive…the way he could handle things like this so calmly.

But I was still confused. "Who's Orochimaru?" I asked warily as Naruto ran to the bedroom to collect his weapons.

"Temari will tell you while I'm gone." Neji said as he fastened his weapons to his belt.

"But…what does this have to do with Sakura?" I asked as Hinata went to bid Naruto goodbye. Neji said nothing, and I bit my lip. "Neji, tell me! I…I'm scared, okay?!"

Neji stopped and faced me. He sighed. "TenTen…just be careful, alright…?"

I stared at him. "Neji, can I come too? Please?"

"No." he said shortly, looking horrified by the idea. "There's no way in hell I'm letting you come, TenTen."

"Is it that…dangerous…?"

"…Yes."

"Then I want to come!" I insisted. "You could die! I want to help! I'm your sidekick, Neji!"

"That doesn't matter anymore!" he said loudly. "This time I can't cover you, TenTen, and you can't cover me! I have to do this on my own, understand!"

"Neji, I'm ready!" Naruto said as he walked out quickly, Hinata behind him looking a little worried.

"Alright. Uchiha, don't move, got it?" Neji ordered Sasuke, who was sitting on the sofa with his head in his arms. "Okay, Naruto, let's move."

They started to make their way out the door after Hinata gave Naruto a quick kiss, making him stumble a bit as he left, but when Neji left, starting down the sidewalk, feet crunching on the leaves that were falling from the trees, I noticed something.

I grabbed his gun from the coffee table and ran after him. "Neji, wait!" I called. He stopped and turned in surprise, and I stopped in front of him, breathing hard from running, and handed him the gun. "You forgot it." I panted.

He took it. "Thanks…" he said simply.

I looked up at him. "Hey…be careful…please." I said slowly.

He smiled and put a hand on my head. "Who do you think I am?"

I laughed, but my voice showed how scared I was, and as he left, I walked back inside the house and sat down next to Hinata. Then I turned to Temari, who was holding a large gun in her lap and staring at it.

"Now tell us…" Hinata said softly. "Who's Orochimaru, and what does he have to do with any of this?"

Temari looked up at this, and a sad story was reflected in her eyes.

**x**x**x**x**x**

"I shouldn't be telling you this." Temari said quietly. The sky was darkening with autumn clouds and the wind blew loudly outside against the windows. We all sat huddled on the sofa, feeling suddenly so cold and scared and lonely. I almost wished Shikamaru would come out from the bedroom. I felt like I was in danger, suddenly. I wanted Neji back…

It wasn't like we were going out or in love or anything, no. We were just…close…

"Why are you telling us if you shouldn't be?" Hinata asked softly from between Temari and I.

Temari smiled grimly. "Well…I remember what Sakura said not too long ago…"

"What was that?" I asked.

" '_It's a body's habit when you're keeping something in to let it out in some ways. Too many emotions bottled up inside at once is unhealthy._' That's what she said." Temari recited. "I think...everyone in the gang has kept at least something from everyone, and when Sakura said that, I think it jinxed everything…Shikamaru broke up with me, Ino left, now Sakura's gone missing…And I should tell you all something we haven't told you yet…"

"Then go on…" Hinata said quietly. "We won't interrupt. We won't judge. We'll just…listen."

"Promise." I said.

Temari smiled sadly. "Okay…" She took a deep breath and began.

"Orochimaru was the one that started the entirety of gangs and violence in Konoha. He began a gang at the age of fifteen when his alcoholic parents kicked him out to live on the streets. He used his gang to mug passerby and take their money as a way of letting out his stress. He dropped out of high school soon enough and focused all he had on a life of crime, hiding from the police. He started raping people after a while. He was sick, really twisted. Now he's older, in his thirties or something like that. He tried to actually take over Konoha a bit ago but all the gangs in high school, the violence that joined them together a sort of run-off from his own acts in the past, all combined their strengths just for a bit to go against him, and he failed miserably. But some of his crimes still go on here. Like some of the murders going on here, the way the police don't do their job at all…Even when Orochimaru left, he left behind his stench. We thought we could still handle things, though, and he'd never come back, but…he's here again, it seems…"

I stared at her. "Wh…What does this have to do with Sakura…?" I whispered.

"Is she going to be alright?" Hinata asked, worried.

Temari stared at us, and I saw a flash of pity in her blue eyes before she closed them. "…Yes…" she said quietly. "She'll…She'll be alive, I'm sure…"

"Then what are we so worried about…?" I demanded.

"She's a female…" Sasuke whispered suddenly from the sofa. We all stared at him.

I frowned. "You sexist-!"

"It's not like that." Shikamaru interrupted me suddenly from the door, narrowing his eyes. I was startled, I hadn't noticed him coming in. "Orochimaru-"

"That's enough!" Temari said suddenly, loudly. Shikamaru looked surprised. It was the first thing she'd said to him in a while. She turned to Hinata and I. "You two, just get some sleep. We can skip school tomorrow. For now, let's wait till Neji and Naruto get back. You two…just shut up and leave us alone."

Shikamaru and Sasuke said nothing, and I just leaned back and obeyed Temari's strict voice, closing my eyes and trying to relax.

It was, I knew, going to be the last time I'd be able to rest in a while…

**x**x**x**x**x**

"TenTen…"

I heard a wonderfully calm voice and my eyes fluttered open to see Neji's face a few inches from my own. He looked sad for some reason. His eyes showed something much like guilt…

"Neji?" I whispered, sitting up. It was dark, the middle of the night. I noticed blood on his face and sat up quickly, immediately concerned. But I looked him over and sighed in relief, smiling at him. "You're okay!" I said quietly, gladly.

He smiled a bit, but it was grim. "I'm fine…" he murmured as I wiped the blood gently from his face with the sleeves of my sweater. But he caught my hand. "TenTen…"

I gasped. "Oh, right…! Sakura! Is she here?!"

"Yes…"

"She's alive?!"

"…Yes…"

I beamed. "Thanks so much!" I cried happily. But he wouldn't let me hug him. He shook his head.

"TenTen…You…"

I stared at him. "…What…?"

"…You should come see her, though…"

"Naruto-kun?"

I turned and saw Naruto waking Hinata. Temari and Shikamaru were awake now as well, standing off to the side. Temari, for some reason, had tears running down her face and she was shaking slightly. Shikamaru looked like he wanted to comfort her but couldn't. Sasuke was nowhere to be found.

"Where's Sasuke?" I asked quietly, standing next to Neji.

"…In his room…" Neji said, looking away from me. "Probably thinking about things…"

"…Wh-What do you mean…?" Hinata stuttered. "Where's Sakura now?"

"…I'll show you…" Naruto whispered. He began to lead us down the hall to the healing room. Hinata and I shared a worried glance and followed him, Temari Shikamaru and Neji following behind and not saying a thing.

We stopped and looked through the open door into the healing room, lit by one lamp. Sakura lay in the bed, and I felt the disquietude grow inside me as I noticed the bruises on her face, particularly her lips and cheek. A white sheet covered the rest of her body. I saw something that made me slightly frightened; her shoulders were bare except for the straps of her bra.

"…She's alive." I said, my voice shaking.

"Yes." Neji whispered warily.

"…What happened to her…?" Hinata asked slowly, her voice hollow.

"…O-O-Orochimaru…" Naruto stuttered, but he couldn't finish. "N-Neji…I can't say it, I can't…!" he cried, hiding his face in his hands. "Hinata, I'm so sorry…"

"What…?" was all she could say.

Neji gulped and turned his back to us, head hanging. "She was raped." he whispered. "By Orochimaru."

The world seemed to stop spinning. All I could see was white, then black, then _red_.

"No…!" Hinata cried.

"I'm so sorry, Hinata, I wish I could have gone their sooner…stopped it in some way…!" Naruto cried quickly as I felt my knees start to shake. "I wish…I wish…!" Naruto couldn't finish anything.

I found myself stumbling blindly into the room and staring at her. I heard Hinata run forward and take my hand in her own shaking one, drenched in cold sweat. "TenTen…Sakura, she…no, no…!" Hinata gasped.

I squeezed her hand. "Sakura…" I choked out sadly.

Suddenly Sakura twitched and her eyes opened slightly. "Nn…" she made a noise of pain, and I quickly sat down beside her and took her hand gently on my lap.

"It's okay, Sakura." I whispered, feeling tears sting my eyes. "It's okay." I gently drew circles on her hand with my thumb to try and console her.

"Ten…?" she asked weakly. "Is Hina there too…?"

"I'm right here, Sakura." Hinata said, her voice wavering in anguish, as she stepped up by Sakura's head. "We're both here. We're not leaving you, ever again. Promise."

Sakura smiled a bit, then winced. "I…I was in the basement of Orochimaru's place. It was all cold and damp, and it smelled like blood. I couldn't see anything. They gagged me. And every day they gave me drugs, and I'd wake up and I'd be hurting down there…I…I-I've been…I've been…" She let out a sob, and I shared a horrified glance with Hinata. "…It hurts…" Sakura whispered finally.

"Shhh…It's okay, Sakura." I said softly. "Try to go to sleep. It's all gonna be okay…" My voice was filled with agony and tears, but it seemed to soothe her, for she closed her eyes and soon enough was breathing deeply. I let her hand loose, setting it gently on her stomach next to the other one and stood, looking down at her.

"…I wasn't there…and she got hurt again…" I whispered. "Because I wasn't there. I promised I'd protect you two! _I promised_!" I suddenly got to my knees and crossed my arms on the mattress by her head, laying my face into my arms, and began to cry. "I promised…!" I sobbed sadly. "And now look what happened…Hinata…"

"TenTen…" Hinata whispered, and I heard the sob in her voice as well, looking up to stare at her as she gazed down at me, face filled with sorrow. "I'm sorry, but for the first time, I…I-I…I-I d-don't know what to say…" she clamped her hands together tightly, bending over and sobbing.

I stared at her for some more, then dropped my head into my arms again, sobbing. I felt Hinata's hand on my head a bit later as she kneeled next to me. I saw from the corner of my eye everyone leave the room and close the door behind them after a while to give us time alone.

And the only thing left was what I could hear, and that was just crying; the sound of our own sadness.

**X**X**X**X**X**

…I give you all permission to draw what you think best resembles me on a piece of lined paper and then stab that paper with a pointy stick as many times as you wish. that is all. :)  
Re-Read & Edited while listening to: _Take you As you Are_ from _Hatenkou Yuugi_  
**Review please!** Even if you hate me for what I've done to our beloved characters. XP I would like, errr…how about 680? I'm betting where I shouldn't be, LOL. XD  
thanks for reading!  
xmarachanx


	20. Somei Yoshino

Hey guys!  
Thanks a bunch to:  
Princess of Storms, xXxKimakoxXx, Herbblade, totalnarutofangirl85, writingxonxwalls, Nerd4eva, SMOKe13, waterdragonrai, eviltwin22, Indigo-Nightfall-Cullen20, Sunny Soul, kimiko77, Jackie, UcHiHaHyUuGa, MidniteCurse4Eternity, XxkikiroxX, ShikallllTema, Kyra-Mitsu, The Laughing Phoenix, Dreaming101, mangamaniacgurl, Once Upon A Time In Love, Tilders, Skelex, Hikoru, Aniki, Maya-chan2007, Youkai Koneko, Pnkrockninja101, RisingTwinDragons93, , SparkyCasper, .llamas  
Enjoy!

**X**X**X**X**X**

**H**e**a**r **N**o **E**v**i**l  
_See no evil. Speak no evil._

**D**i**s**c**l**a**i**m**e**r: Oh emm eff gee, I don't own Naruto. :)  
**S**o**n**g: _Long Kiss Goodbye _by_ Halcali_ :)

C**h**. **T**w**e**n**t**y - Somei Yoshino

_What made me think_  
_"How can you say that with a straight face?"_  
_When you asked, "When will we meet again?"_

**S**a**k**u**r**a

I remembered…why my name was Sakura…

My mother had told me once that after I was born, my father had seen outside a Somei Yoshino cherry blossom tree and was inspired to name me Sakura. So I was based off of _that_ kind of cherry tree. It fit me…

As I sank in some strange darkness, I went over the facts in my mind.

'_The Somei Yoshino Cherry Blossom Tree was created by humans. They never sprout fruit or seeds. Nothing to nurture. Nothing to connect to. A thing that was simply created as a mere vessel of life. So although there are many of it's kind, it will always be alone…_'

**x**x**x**x**x**

It hurt.

It hurt in all the wrong places.

And there was nothing I could do about it this time.

No matter what I memorized from a medical skills book, even a health, science, biology, or chemistry book, nothing could heal this pain. I had been violated, and it wasn't something you could fix.

I hated the feeling that something precious had been taken from me. It wasn't something I could even describe to myself. And as I lay there the next morning, my eyes opened dimly to see the small rays of early morning's golden sunlight filtering a pale yellow through the white blinds on the window, and I knew it wasn't something that I'd ever forget, no matter how much I wanted to forget it right then and there. Even if I was unconscious the entire time, it had happened. It was sick. Disgusting. And I could barely handle the fact that I was going through that.

"Nn…" A small noise of frustration came from my lips, and I felt something stir next to me. I turned my head to see TenTen waking slowly.

Her eyes met mine, and she sat up all the way. "Can you walk?" was the first thing she said in a sad, cracked voice. I nodded slowly as Hinata awoke suddenly. TenTen glanced at her. "Hinata, can you help her up?"

Hinata nodded and assisted me as I tried to straighten up. It hurt even more, and I winced, but I dealt with it and sat up slowly, using Hinata's hand as a support behind me, and soon enough I got to my feet. TenTen walked across the room and put her hand to the knob of the door, but then she paused and turned to us. Her face was blank, completely emotionless.

"Sakura, Hinata…" she said quietly. "We don't have to do this anymore if you don't want to. But you have to decide right now."

Hinata and I shared a surprised glance, but then we both nodded; we were sick of it. We knew. Finally, we'd understood; we couldn't trust anyone.

I turned to TenTen. "We won't, then." I said softly.

She nodded back at us. "We quit, then." she declared hoarsely.

I closed my eyes. "It's about time."

**T**e**n**T**e**n

The door opened.

Hinata helped Sakura limp her aching body out to the living room, and we saw everyone except Sasuke and Ino sitting in the living room in a depressed silence. Neji was sitting on his armchair, Naruto on Sasuke's. Shikamaru and Temari were each on separate sofas.

Neji and Naruto stood up immediately as I closed the door behind Sakura and Hinata. I crossed around them and stood protectively in front of them. "We're leaving." I said blankly to Neji. "And we quit."

He blinked. "Wh…What…?"

"_We quit_." I repeated harshly. "We're sick of this crap. We're out." Temari gasped as I crossed the room and opened the front door, waiting for Sakura and Hinata.

"You can't!" Neji exclaimed. "You'll get killed on your own by the other gangs, you've already caused enough damage! You can't, TenTen…!"

I didn't look at him, even though the way he said my name pulled at my heart. "What's stopping us?" Neji couldn't say anything, so Naruto tried.

"H…Hinata, please, listen to me, I-!"

"No, Naruto. I'm not with you anymore. I'm sorry." Hinata whispered. I heard the tears in her voice as she turned away from him. He skidded to a halt and stared at her, lost for words, his eyes slowly widening. "Please leave me be." Hinata said quietly, and she and Sakura continued their slow way across the floor.

They finally got to the porch, but before I could close the door and leave the room, I heard Temari cry, sobbing, "You guys can't leave me too!"

I hesitated, staring at Temari. She looked so upset. Shikamaru had left her, Ino was leaving her, now us. My eyes betrayed my agony for a split second. I tried to tell her I was sorry.

I left the room, and the door closed.

**H**i**n**a**t**a

Now I knew how Temari felt.

I loved him. I loved Naruto. I loved him so much that my heart could burst. But I had to leave him. There were some things that mattered more than love. There were some things that you were better off doing.

There were some other ways you could be happy.

And they weren't going to come to you.

I stared out the window of the car as TenTen drove us home. Sakura was lying in the back seats so I sat up front, watching my breath fog up the window.

'_That's how cold I am…_' I couldn't help but think as my eyes stung. But I could not cry.

That wasn't who I was anymore…

**S**a**k**u**r**a

"Are you sure you don't want anything else?" TenTen asked.

I sighed. "I'm fine, Ten." I assured her quietly. She looked pale and exhausted, I didn't want to push her too hard. Besides, I was already in my bed at home, the window open but the lights off, three comfortable blankets on me, dressed in clean fresh pajamas with the old, bloody lingerie thrown away. My bruises and cuts had been tended to by Hinata and now I could barely feel them. A radio and tons of books were next to me on the bedside table with hot cocoa and steaming soup, some scones and onigiri next to them as well. Everything was…perfect.

Like a real home, a real family.

Like something I'd never had before.

"I'll be fine, guys." I said quietly. "I checked, and, I-I'm not…i-i-injured or anything, I'm not…not…p…_pregnant_." I whispered the last word. Hinata and TenTen looked horribly relieved.

"I'd have to find a way to pay for an abortion." Hinata whispered sadly.

"I know. It's alright, though, I'm fine." I said, smiling as well as I could. "I can get over this, I know I can. I'll be sore for a bit, but I'll be…okay. You can…leave now…"

TenTen blinked. "No." she said simply. I stared at her, confused.

"We're not leaving you now, Sakura." Hinata said softly, backing TenTen up. "Not for a second, not for a minute, not ever. We didn't expect something like this to happen. We were stupid. We need to be aware at all times from now on."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked. TenTen looked confused as well.

Hinata smiled slyly. "We're going to be fighting on our own from now on."

TenTen and I gasped, understanding. TenTen grinned. "Of course…!" she whispered. She sat on the edge of my bed. "All three of us!"

"That's it." Hinata said, sitting down as well.

I stared at them and nodded happily. "That'll…that'll work…" I whispered, tears spilling again. But this time, with relief. I knew; it was going to be alright from now on…

'_So the Somei Yoshino Cherry Blossom Tree is the only of it's kind?_' I thought as Hinata and TenTen smiled at me tenderly. I looked out the window at the tree outside, the blossoms falling and flying through the air like cherry snow.'_Then…why do they still flower every year?_' I frowned. '_Maybe the reason there are so many flowering Somei Yoshino's is because so many people wanted them. Even if all they do is scatter their petals, their beauty makes everyone's heart ache._' I fisted a hand.

'_They're not meager at all!_'

"TenTen, Hinata."

'_They're wanted._'

"Yeah?"

"What is it?"

'_They're loved._'

"From now on, let's do things our own way."

'_They're not alone._'

**X**X**X**X**X**

Shortituuuuuuuuuuude, OMG! LOL, sorry it's so short. But it's full of angst-y goodness, so we're okay, right? And, no, the angst is not over yet. There will be…erm…one more chapter. And then, of course, the angst will come back in a few chapters too after a TIME SKIP!!! you'll see. :)  
Re-Read & Edited while listening to: _Fortune Favors The Brave_ from _Aida_. :D  
REVIEW!  
thanks for reading!  
xmarachanx


	21. Dichotomy

Hey guys!  
Thanks a bunch to the following:  
writingxonxwalls, Maya-chan, kimiko77, Sunny Soul, Indigo-Nightfall-Cullen20, xXxKimakoxXx, MidniteCurse4Eternity, Tilders, UcHiHaHyUuGa, DarkAnimeAngel13, Once Upon A Time In Love, .llamas, XxkikiroxX, Youkai Koneko, SparkyCasper, waterdragonrai, Chigiri Sasaki, totalnarutofangirl85, SMOKe13, Jackie, Pnkrockninja101, Dreaming101, Kyra-Mitsu, _, Hikoru, Aniki, ayame_81131, Herbblade, ShinobiXAngel, Nerd4eva, anthropomorphichybrid, Ying Fa Chik  
and ayame_81131, no, in fact, Tsunade is not Sakura's real mother in the anime, just in this story. :) Thanks again everyone!  
Enjoy!

**X**X**X**X**X**

**H**e**a**r **N**o **E**v**i**l  
_See no evil. Speak no evil._

**D**i**s**c**l**a**i**m**e**r: Oh emm eff gee, I don't own Naruto. :)  
**S**o**n**g: _Long Kiss Goodbye _by_ Halcali_ :)

C**h**. **T**w**e**n**t**y O**ne - **Dichotomy

_Any time you talk too much, I know you don't get it._  
_For a moment, I see your bluff and cry._  
_Do my tears even work on you?_

**H**i**n**a**t**a

"_Good morning Hinata-sama. I've come to collect your laundry, if that's alright with you."_

"_Maid…what does it mean when you're heart's breaking?"_

"_Well dichotomy of course."_

"_Dichotomy?"_

"_Yes, the division of a whole into two separate entities."_

"_Your heart can split?"_

"_No, it's just a phrase. But when that phrase is used, it usually feels like it is."_

"Hinata, you gonna wake up?"

My eyes opened and I glanced up at TenTen and Sakura.

"Yes."

**S**a**k**u**r**a

It had been about a week since the incident. I had gotten to rest and now I was about ready to go back to school. There was no use in hiding yourself from the world for the rest of your life.

I was examining the scratch on my stomach as I stood in the bathroom in my bra and uniform skirt, my stockings on. It was a scar now, I'd stopped the bleeding, thick and long that stretched all the way down to my abdomen. It wasn't there before Orochimaru had taken me, so I assumed he'd done it. The question was, why?

"Sakura, you about done in there?" I heard TenTen call from outside the door.

"Yeah, be right out." I called back. Things were a bit more comfortable now with TenTen and Hinata. I knew things would be normal soon. We'd never forget this, however. Just like the scar would never go away. I knew that.

When TenTen and Hinata had seen the scar they were furious, but I'd calmed them down soon enough. I didn't like all the trouble I'd already caused them. After that they'd told me who exactly Orochimaru, and what his story, was. I wasn't that surprised. I hadn't actually seen him, but he sure sounded like a sick person…

I put my shirt on and quickly exited the bathroom, smiling at them. They looked nervous. "Ready?" Hinata asked quietly.

"Yeah." I said. "I can do this."

**x**x**x**x**x**

"No! No, no, no, no, _no_!" Karin yelled. "You ass, you fucker, you god damn _bastard_!" She sat in the darkness of a hotel room. Ever since the ice skating rink had been burned down, she had taken advantage of another abandoned building; a hotel. She'd had her technician fix the electricity and borrow a generator, so they were all set. Now she was curled in a chair by the closed and blinded window, talking into a cell and looking terrified.

"Come now, Karin-chan, we all get what we want in the end." a seductive, slimy voice simpered from the cell sarcastically. "I came back here after I got all the materials and followers that I needed, and I found that cute little cherry blossom walking alone in the dark. She doesn't belong to anyone, so I chose her. There's nothing wrong with that, right?"

"There's _everything_ wrong with that, dick!" Karin cried, sounding like she was going to throw up any second from anxiety and guilt and horror. "You already ruined my life, why someone else's?!"

"Oh Karin-chan, please. I _enjoyed_ my time spent with you."

Karin swallowed the phlegm in her throat, her face wet with perspiration. "You took my virginity against my own will." she said slowly with fury. "That's the reason I started this gang. So no woman would have to go through what I did."

"Ah, but that's not working out for you, is it?"

"That's none of your business."

"But aren't you being a hypocrite? I've heard of what you've been doing, Karin-chan, you can't hide that information from _me_."

"…But…that's…" Karin smiled. "Those girls on Sasuke and Matsuri's team…they're different…they're not like the girls on my team…"

"Jealous?"

"…Yes…" Karin whispered. She shook her head. "It's all the same! You're a monster, Orochimaru!"

The man laughed. "Ah-ha-ha! Sticks and stones, Karin!" he sang, and she looked like she wanted to pummel him. "Please, words mean nothing coming from you. Because - I hope you know this yourself - _you're just as much of a monster as I am_…"

Karin's eyes welled with tears. "_I KNOW!_" she screamed into the phone, sobbing. "But…Don't…Don't call me again!" she added fiercely. "Because what you did to Sakura is sick. At least…_At least the things I've done can be forgiven!_" With that, she hung up the phone and sat there, breathing heavily and staring at it. "I think _those girls_ taught me that…" She pushed her glasses up her nose again.

"So I'm not as much of a monster as I thought…" she whispered to the darkness. Meanwhile, she fingered a long scar across her stomach.

**x**x**x**x**x**

Ino sat in her room in Sai's hideout. He had done his best to make her feel at home, she noticed with grim amusement as she saw the windows open in the five story abandoned parking complex. The 'rooms' were actually pieces of very tall wood made to fit against some of the walls and ceilings with squares formed in them for doors and insulated for warmth with some windows. Their technician really was skilled, she guessed as she bounced a bit on her bed with pink sheets and her stuffed animals and fluffy pillows piled into the corners. She had a type of hamper for her clothes, and apparently she was supposed to put her dirty clothes in a pile outside her door for someone to pick up every week to take down to the cleaners.

She sighed. '_It's just not as cozy as the old place, is it, though…?_' she thought glumly, but she shook her head and put her forehead in her hands. "No! I can't think about them!" she cried into her palms.

"…You do know this wasn't a mistake, Yamanaka."

She blinked and looked up at Sai in the door, blushing a bit. "What?"

"Nothing." he said simply, hands in his pockets. He watched her. He looked a little disappointed. "It's time for another meeting."

Ino resisted the urge to groan and sighed, standing. "Alright…" she said quietly, obliging.

She looked out the window. '_I have to keep doing this...I remember TenTen, how she never gave up. Sakura, how she was so headstrong. Hinata, so pure…I can't do anything to jeopardize best friends like Temari…TenTen Sakura and Hinata wouldn't...so this is the right thing…_'

"You're right, Sai."

"What?"

"This wasn't a mistake."

**x**x**x**x**x**

Temari sighed. She thought she was the only one staying in the hideout and skipping school today, but apparently someone else was as well.

She was miserable. She hadn't shown her face for a while. She felt completely alone and uncared for. It was awful.

She sighed as she walked to the bedroom to see who the voices that she heard were. But she wasn't expecting the sight in front of her.

There was Shikamaru and his new 'lover', Tayuya.

Temari stared at them. Shikamaru looked startled then very uncomfortable and ashamed. Tayuya smirked.

"Oh look, Shika-kun. The '_Wind Mistress_' is here!" she said tauntingly.

Temari grit her teeth. "I could kill you right here, Tayuya. You're gang's an enemy of ours, you have no right to be on our territory."

"Oh contraire, Temari!" Tayuya sang. "Now that Orochimaru's back, _all_ the gangs have to join together against him again, right? So I can come over whenever I went, especially since I'm Shika-kun's new girl!"

Temari tried not to get mad at that. "…Either way, you're a bitch and you always will be." she growled.

Tayuya glared at her. "You are too, then!"

"Is that the best comeback you can dig up?" Temari asked, feeling stronger.

"Shut up!" Tayuya cried. She sighed. "Shika-kun, I'm going to the bathroom, I'll be right back."

Temari moved out of the way as Tayuya shoved past Shikamaru looked up at her, eyes sad. "Temari-"

"No, Shikamaru, don't even say anything." Temari said sharply. She felt a sudden burst of adrenaline. "From now on, I won't acknowledge you, you won't acknowledge me. I could care less about you, and you could care less about me. That's all there is to it. Don't say my name again, and I won't say yours. Don't look at me, I won't look at me." She swallowed hard.

"Don't love me, I won't love you."

Shikamaru's eyes widened.

"It's as simple as that. It's not a crime." Temari said. She turned her back on him. "But even if it was, I wouldn't hesitate in doing it." she added as she left him. "This is it. Bye."

She closed the door behind her, and as Tayuya crossed back into the room, Temari gave her a smile that made the girl visibly uneasy. Temari barked a harsh laugh as she went into the living room, grinning a bit.

'_Thanks TenTen, Sakura, Hinata. I did what you told me to._' she thought.

**x**x**x**x**x**

"I still can't get over this." Matsuri sobbed.

She was in her bedroom with Gaara and Kankerou, mourning the death of three girls that had been found raped and murdered in the back of an alley. The rest of her gang was in the hideout, mourning it as well. '_The poor girls are almost as depressed as me…_' she thought sadly. She knew Orochimaru was behind this. She just _knew_ it after the news Gaara and Kankerou had given her. That he was back, again…

"It'll be alright." Gaara whispered, stroking her back.

"And now…and now TenTen Sakura and Hinata are gone too!" she cried. "They'll never come back at this rate, because of what happened to Sakura…This is the worst! I lost Ino, Temari and Shikamaru broke up…what's going to happen next?! I can't believe this!"

"Sh." Gaara said softly, holding her. "Matsuri, calm down, it'll be okay. I promise."

"No it won't, Gaara! It will never be alright!" Matsuri said suddenly sitting up straight and wiping her eyes. "We have to fight. We have to stop him. We have to get revenge."

Kankerou and Gaara both smiled. "That's more like the Matsuri we know." Kankerou said with a laugh.

Matsuri nodded slowly. "Yeah…That's what those girls would have said…"

Kankerou sighed. "Well one's thing for sure…" He looked out the window.

"TenTen Sakura and Hinata…Those chicks sure didn't leave without setting an impression first…"

**T**e**n**T**e**n

"One more word, Lee, and I'll kick your ass." I muttered angrily. He had confronted me the moment I walked into homeroom late, breaking the silence of my appearance with yells of, "MY BEAUTIFUL SAKURA-CHAN, PLEASE TELL ME-!"

"I…I must know…!" he squeaked.

I was at a different desk now, I doubted Gai-sensei would mind. I just didn't want to see Neji. I knew he was watching me, I could feel it, but I didn't dare to make eye contact, or even glance at him once. No matter how much I wanted to…

"I don't give a crap, Lee. I don't have to tell you anything about Sakura or Hinata or myself or anything."

"How about why you were gone for a week, TenTen-san?"

I covered my mouth, realizing Lee and I had been talking while the rest of the class, completely silent, listened. I looked up at Gai weakly. "Um…"

"That's your excuse?"

"Um, uh…Death in the family…?"

"What family?"

"...A pet hamster."

"Very funny, TenTen-san." Gai said, sighing. "I just hope you know you'll have a lot of homework. I do hope your youthful energy won't be hindered."

"…Yeah, youthful, whatever…" I said, rolling my eyes. I felt the eyes of the rest of the class. "Grah! Would you all just take a picture and stare at _that_ or something?! Jesus!" I paused. "…Not literally!" I added quickly when they all fidgeted. I groaned and let my head fall in my arms, and the rest of the class started talking again. Lee left me alone soon enough.

'_This is gonna be a long year…_' I thought glumly.

"TenTen, would you mind talking to me?"

I stifled my gasp. I could recognize that voice anywhere. I gulped and sat up, staring at the wood of my desk. "No way in hell." I said in a monotone, trying to keep the nervousness from my voice.

"Then I'll force you to."

I yelled out in surprise when he grabbed my arm and in a few seconds he'd pulled me out of the classroom and had me pinned to the wall. I looked away, squeezing my eyes shut. '_I can't lose my cool, I can't look at him!_'

"TenTen, look at me."

"Shut up!" I yelled. "Let me go and leave me alone, I don't have to."

"I know you think you'll be better off with just your sisters, I know they're important to you, but you're going to die if you do this!" Neji insisted harshly, not letting go. "Do you want the same thing that happened to Sakura happen to you?! That's why I wouldn't let you go with me!"

"Sakura and Hinata are the only ones that matter anymore." I said to the ground angrily. "You wouldn't understand, because nobody _cares_ about you! Maybe that's why your family treated you like shit, ever thought about that?!"

Neji let me go quickly. I wrenched myself away from him, but my eyes caught on his face, then I realized what I said and put a hand to my lips.

'_No…How could I say something like that…and to Neji…?!_'

I opened my mouth to take it back, but suddenly he said something worse.

"Well maybe that's why your parents hated you. You were just born to be hated."

I nearly stopped breathing. That insult shouldn't have impacted me like that. I closed my eyes and turned away from him again. Neji continued. "Go ahead and leave then." he said coldly.

I gritted my teeth. "Fine." I muttered, walking back into the classroom. "Bye."

Neji said nothing.

**S**a**k**u**r**a

I didn't even get to enter my classroom when Sasuke and Naruto pulled me to the side quickly.

Sasuke's eyes looked more scared than I'd ever seen them, darting over my body as if wondering if I was truly alright. Naruto seemed impatient.

"Sakura…are you-?"

"Shut up." I said quickly. I'd already planned this ahead of time. He wouldn't have the time to ask that stupid question. I wouldn't let him say anything. "Leave me alone from now on."

"But I'm sorry, please, let me say it, I-!"

"I said shut up." I repeated, my voice raising. "And leave me alone. Is that too complicated for you? I'll make it simpler and say it in words a gang leader, who by the way just proved himself to be a true one, can understand; _Fuck off_." Sasuke was appalled. Probably not expecting this from the girl who followed all the rules. I narrowed my eyes. "Oh, and one more thing."

I slapped him right across the face. He stumbled back and looked away from me, putting a hand to his cheek. Naruto was frozen, his jaw falling open.

And then, to my surprise and confusion, I heard clapping. All of us turned to see someone familiar-looking over on the side of the hall, clapping and grinning. "Nice one, Haruno, nice one."

"Kabuto…" Sasuke said slowly, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. "What are you-?"

"Sorry, sorry, Uchiha, don't wanna offend ya. But Haruno, can I speak with you a moment in private?"

I glanced at Sasuke and Naruto, then back to him and nodded. Anything to get away from them. He smiled. "Excellent. Right this way. I'll see you later, then, Uchiha." He guided me gently with a hand to my back down the hall. I noticed Sasuke and Naruto looking at each other uneasily before I rounded the corner.

"Aren't you the one from Kankerou's team?" I asked conversationally when we were out of earshot.

"Ah, you remember me." he said, sounding pleased. "Yes, I am the medic on Kankerou's team, but I'm also a student teacher at this school. I'm the computer teacher."

"Oh…" I said, then I looked away. "Listen, if you or Kabuto are interested in what happened to me-"

"Oh, I am interested." Suddenly his hands slammed me into the wall. His glasses glinted maliciously as his eyes roamed my body eagerly. "_Very_ interested."

I coughed at the impact, feeling the bruises on my back start to ache again. The tightening of his hands on my shoulder started to make me scared, the feeling of being violated came back to me in a rush of memory and I stared at him, frightened. "Wh-What are you doing…?"

"I've come to interrogate you, Haruno." Kabuto said darkly. "Under the orders of my _real_ gang."

I stared at him. Then it all clicked. How old he was. "You're…part of Orochimaru's gang…" I whispered.

His mouth curved into a shining white smile. "Correct!"

"Why are you here?! Why would Kankerou let you into his gang?!"

"There are ways of destroying your personal data, information, history, reputation…" he listed off. "I've done it all. Kankerou, nor his technician, had no way of knowing who I was or where I used to belong to when they initiated me."

"If you used to be part of Orochimaru's gang, you should have been fighting against Kankerou…"

Kabuto laughed. "Are you an idiot?! What have they been telling you? Lies to make you respect them? That was a long time ago! Kankerou wasn't in high school yet, neither was Gaara. And the others were just kids!"

"But…you're a teacher…" I insisted weakly, not believing it.

"Stupid girl. Who do you think were the ones that fought _against_ Orochimaru? Who do you think the fools were that drove him out of Konoha?!"

I thought about it. "…The teachers…!" I gasped.

"Right, right! The teachers!" Kabuto mocked me. "You shit for brains, of course the teachers! Gai, Kakashi, Kurenai, Asuma! All four of them had gangs! All four of them are brilliant fighters and leaders!"

"B-But…Why are you in Kankerou's gang…? You should have been driven out too."

Kabuto smirked. "_That_ is the highlight of my success. See, I was the youngest on Orochimaru's team. But I was also the most loyal. I knew that he'd have to come back soon. None of the four gang leaders remembered me when I came out of the shadows to join Kankerou's team as the oldest member because I was the technician on Orochimaru's. I was just hitching a free ride."

"…For…what…?"

"For what's happening now!" Kabuto cried, looking excited. "Orochimaru's return, you cunt-face! He's back! He's going to take Konoha over again like he should have in the first place! Now all the gangs are torn apart and the older gangs are too old to fight, you don't stand a chance. And I'll be the one rewarded most!" He laughed manically. I stared.

'_This guy…is crazy…!_' I thought, astounded.

Suddenly the bell rang, and my eyes widened, and so did his, as students spilled into the hallway.

**H**i**n**a**t**a

I noticed a crowd forming in the hall as I was on my way to my next class, and I noticed TenTen as well. I walked over to her quickly, feeling Naruto, Neji, and Sasuke's eyes on us. "What is it?" I asked.

"Dunno, but it sure is annoying." TenTen muttered.

"What's going on? Is that teacher picking on that pink-haired girl?!" I heard a kid from the crowd say.

TenTen and I stiffened and stared at each other, then suddenly TenTen grabbed my arm and started elbowing through the crowd, pushing people aside rudely. I tried to apologize but she was going to fast, and we stumbled to a halt at the front of the crowd and stared.

A silver-haired young man that I recognized as Kabuto from Kankerou's gang had Sakura pressed up against the wall. She looked confused…scared…

Surprisingly, it wasn't TenTen that yelled out immediately.

It was me.

"Bastard." I said coldly. Kabuto stared at me as I walked forward. "She'd been raped, _raped_, and you have the nerve to touch her like that?!" Kabuto narrowed his eyes at me, not swayed. I glared right back. "You deserve to die." I said furiously.

And what was an even greater surprise, was that it wasn't TenTen that made the first punch.

It was Sakura.

Kabuto flew from her and crashed into the other wall, flopping to the ground to cough out blood, hacking and choking, and Sakura drew her fist back to her. Her face was emotionless.

TenTen ran up to us quickly, looking back and forth between either one of us as the crowd stopped talking, silent and stunned.

"Guys…" TenTen said quietly after a while, breaking the silence. "…I'm kinda sick of this place."

"Right?" Sakura asked, panting a bit as she let her fist drop, straightening up. She wrapped one arm around her stomach. "It gets a little boring after a while."

I smiled. "I'm way ahead of you." I said, revealing the coats I had been carrying for them in my arms. They blinked and laughed a bit each in surprise.

"We're outa here." TenTen said, grinning and slipping on her long black sweater that fastened once in the center and billowed out behind her.

Sakura and I did the same, Sakura pulling on her tight red jacket and I zipped up my violet and pink detailed hoodie jacket. And with that we left. Unfortunately, Asuma, Temari's homeroom teacher, jumped in front of us.

"You can't leave your school in the middle of the day!"

TenTen raised an eyebrow. "This isn't ours." she said, and with that she pushed him out of the way and let us go through.

I sighed a bit. '_Maybe it's not my heart that's suffering dichotomy, or whatever it is. Maybe it's not my heart that's breaking. Maybe it's us, Naruto. As a whole. Turning into two separate entities. I can walk on my own from now on…_'

And from there on out, as we walked away from the school, with each other, we knew that this was the end.

However, whether we knew it or not, we weren't parting from everyone without changing something first.

**X**X**X**X**X**

Well, there it is, some more angst. Next chapter will be a half-year time skip, and I'll stick in a bunch of comedy to tide you over for a bit. Then the angst comes back…ugh…and some more mysteries and questions answered…double ugh. well, I hope you like the chapter. :)  
Re-Read & Edited while listening to: _Dirty Little Secret _by _All American Rejects_ :D  
REVIEW please! let's see…I'd like 740 please? that's a little high, but so far I've gotten all I've ever wanted. :)  
thanks for reading!  
xmarachanx


	22. A New Beginning

Hello eveyone. :)  
thanks to:  
Indigo-Nightfall-Cullen20, Pnrockninja101, MidniteCurse4Eternity, xXxKimakoxXx, Tilders, waterdragonrai, The Laughing Phoenix, ShinobiXAngel, UcHiHaHyUuGa, Hikoru, Aniki, mangamaniacgurl, Ayame_81131, SparkyCasper, Herbblade, Youkai Koneko, kimiko77, XxkikiroxX, totalnarutofangirl85, Maya-chan2007, Kyra-Mitsu, Dreaming101, kanna1016, , anthropomorphichybrid, ShikalllTema, Jackie, SomeRandomThing  
Enjoy!

**X**X**X**X**X**

It was half a year later. It was nearing Christmas, and the weather was still snowing outside, and as Shikamaru sat in the living room of the hideout on a sofa, leaning over his laptop on the coffee table, he had to wear a sweatshirt and gloves. It still didn't really work, because the heat was not on in the house. He rubbed his hands together and gasped into them, trying to warm his body with his hot breath. It wasn't really working.

He sighed wearily and turned back to the laptop, one hand typing away like a spider and the other massaging his forehead. The screen lit up the empty room. The blinds were all drawn, and the lights weren't on. The room was messy. Papers and wrappers and clothing were thrown everywhere.

Shikamaru breathed a long sigh when something blinked onto his screen. He clicked on another browser and it showed a map of Konoha. He stared at it and narrowed his eyes. "Cell phone reception…that's not new…" he muttered. But then his eyes widened. "Wait a minute…"

He clicked open another browser and pulled a file from his documents quickly and tapped in an html. He spent a while hacking, looking through a notebook that he dug up from beneath the coffee table, among many other things he didn't want to think about, to plug in passwords and html's. Finally, he got what he wanted and typed in three phone numbers.

Three different windows soon blinked onto his screen. Shikamaru's eyes widened, then he quickly pulled out his cell phone and dialed.

"Uchiha." he said when the phone stopped ringing. "Get your ass home." He paused. "You're gonna want to see this…"

**H**e**a**r **N**o **E**v**i**l  
_See no evil. Speak no evil._

**D**i**s**c**l**a**i**m**e**r: Oh emm eff gee, I don't own Naruto. :)  
**S**o**n**g: _Long Kiss Goodbye _by_ Halcali_

C**h**. **T**w**e**n**t**y **T**w**o **- A New Beginning

_I keep saying "I want to be loved"_  
_In my own special way, but you still don't get the hint._  
_I have this nagging feeling_  
_That I'll never see you again..._

**x**x**x**x**x**

"You tapped into their cell phone receptions _and_ the satellite, then?" Neji asked, sounding confused, as he sat next to Shikamaru. Sasuke sat on Shikamaru's other side, and Naruto was next to him, looking over his shoulder eagerly.

"Hurry up, show us, show us! Show them to us! I wanna see how Hinata's doing! They're doing okay, right?! Of course they are, you haven't reported anything bad going on with them, right?! They're fine! They're doing great! They're awesome! Hinata's fine! Right?! Right! Right?! Ri-!"

"Shut _up_, idiot!" Sasuke yelled, hitting Naruto upside the head. He popped back up and glowered but said nothing more, and Shikamaru sighed again and clicked around a bit on the laptop.

"I haven't been following with all the cell phone receptions since they left. I have a lot of interference so it's hard to detect anything. But recently they've been more and more active, those three. So I hacked a government website and figured out the passwords to a couple files, and finally I got to satellite. I plugged in the numbers to the satellite frequency, and I got this."

He clicked the second browser and three windows filled the screen equally, leaving one blank spot on the screen for codes. Each window displayed the same scene. A bedroom. Three beds. All of them had one person sleeping in it.

"Is…Is there a way we can…see them up close…?" Naruto whispered as Neji and Sasuke just stared in silence.

"Yeah, we can hook it up to the television. Just stick the audio and visual cords in, the third one's already set up for you."

Naruto quickly did what he said, and he sat down in front of the television, staring at the screen with wide eyes as Neji and Sasuke observed the set from the sofa.

"Hey guys, I'm home!" Temari announced suddenly, entering the room and closing the door behind her. "Sorry, I went out at like five am without waking you to go shopping. I was taking the motorcycle and I ran into Matsuri, we discussed some things. Nothing's new." She hung her purse and shopping bags on a nearby lamp and drew back the shades. "Sheesh, I know it's cold and it's really early in the morning, but that's no reason to stay in the dark. It's a Saturday, have some spirit!" she said as everyone winced at the sunlight flooding into the room. She noticed everyone circled around the television and raised an eyebrow, looking at it.

"Okay, seriously? Your sexual lives are all so pathetic you have to _spy on girls sleeping_?"

"Temari, just look at who they are and maybe you'll understand…" Sasuke muttered.

Temari faced the screen, her hands on her hips, and squinted. "I can't see them well. Two of them are under the covers, but one of them has…blue hair…just like…_no_." She blinked and shook her head, moving on. "Um…and the room looks familiar…it looks like…" She gasped and straightened up. "Oh my god…it _is_ them! How did you-?!"

"Shikamaru somehow hacked into satellite frequencies and he's using their cell phones." Sasuke explained. "We want to…see how they're doing…"

"I'm totally in!" Temari cried, throwing herself in front of the television and staring at the screen greedily.

They waited for about a minute, then suddenly some music started playing.

One of the figures in the bed groaned and moved, and then a head emerged from the blankets. Neji stiffened. It was TenTen. Her brown hair was slightly sloppy, but otherwise she looked the same. She yawned and sat up straight, swinging herself out of bed and glaring at the alarm clock. Then she looked curiously at the other two beds and smirked.

"Pfft. Talk about deep sleepers." she said mockingly. Temari laughed aloud. Suddenly TenTen leaned over the bedside table and turned the music louder.

Sakura sat up straight and almost punched TenTen, but she dodged quickly as if she was used to it. Sasuke's eyes widened. He looked relieved that Sakura was so lively again. Her hair was down to her shoulders now, her bangs just a little longer. Sakura glared at TenTen as she raised up again, grinning. "TenTen, turn it off, idiot!"

"Come on, you know you love the song as much as I do!" TenTen sang, crossing over to the closet and removing some clothes from their hangers. She glanced over her shoulder as she did so. "Hinata, you awake?"

"Mhm." she said sleepily, and Naruto literally fell over before scrambling back up to stare at her. Her hair was still the same length, and she looked if not more beautiful than before. Naruto's eyes were getting bigger by the second. "Sakura, could you turn that off?" Hinata asked.

"No _fair_!" Sakura slammed a hand onto the alarm clock furiously, and everyone watching the television set stared, shocked. There was a dent in the alarm clock where her fist was.

Hinata sighed. "Not again…"

"That's what you get when you tell her to turn it off, Hina." TenTen teased, and she retreated to the bathroom quickly to dodge a pillow Sakura threw at her, yelling, "Your aim sucks, forehead!" through the door. Hinata sighed, shaking her head.

Soon Sakura and Hinata were both up and picking out their clothes for the day, then they entered the bathroom as well. The camera however stayed in the bedroom.

"No signals in bathroom." Shikamaru explained briefly. "…Sorry to disappoint you, Naruto." he added as a small joke. Temari coughed loudly, but it was obviously covering up a laugh. Shikamaru glanced at her once before turning back to his laptop.

Suddenly the door opened and TenTen emerged first. Her hair was still up in two buns, but most was let down as well so it brushed her shoulders in thick chocolaty waves. She wore a black turtle-neck, sleeveless shirt with three gold buttons running down the front, a black sweater open over it, a dark blue and grey plaid pleated skirt, some skin-tight black leg wear so you couldn't see up the skirt, going down to mid-thigh, and knee-high white boots with black laces. She was slipping on black gloves with cut-off fingers.

Sakura came next. Her hair was in a high pony tail, but her bangs were hanging down to frame her heart-shaped face. She had on a tight white shirt with a pink tank over it, a cream skirt beneath that with a slit up the right leg to show black leggings that went down to mid-thigh like TenTen's, and knee-high black heeled boots. She was finishing putting on her pink elbow guards and black medical gloves.

And finally Hinata came out. Her hair was down still, and the two thin bangs framing her face were braided with delicate silver ribbons. She wore a white strapless dress that ended mid-thigh with a light jean jacket over it and knee-high cowgirl boots. Naruto's eyes bugged out of their sockets. She was adorable.

"Wow! They took after me! They look _hott_!" Temari said, grinning and clapping her hands together. "What an improvement!" Shikamaru smirked behind her back.

"TenTen, go check the messages, will you?" Sakura asked as she looked through a drawer. Hinata moved into the kitchen, and so did the camera. Naruto stared as Hinata started breakfast.

"Go do it yourself." TenTen said lazily.

"Do you _want_ to die?"

"…Going…!" TenTen hurried over to a cell phone on the bedside table and flipped through it. It was Sakura's old one. "Uh oh…" she said after a while.

"What is it?" Hinata called from the kitchen.

"We got something from Ayame." TenTen said loud enough for her to hear.

Sakura turned away from the closet interestedly. "Really? What's it say?"

"Just that she was around the first station at like one in the morning and saw some little girl being taken in."

"Sounds like an emergency to me!" Sakura said, turning back to the drawer. "So what the hell are we waiting for?!"

"I guess I'll have to finish breakfast later." Hinata said, sighing. "TenTen, more information please?"

"Um…Ayame said girl looks about our age. Long black hair, she didn't see the eyes but they looked blue or green to her. Pale…That's about it. Oh, and she adds that we should hurry…shit."

"Could have said that a little earlier?!" Sakura cried, and she began whipping through her drawers faster. "TenTen, get your weapons, damn it!"

"I'm going, I'm going!" TenTen said, throwing the cell phone back on the table and running next to Sakura, elbowing her out of the way to reach inside the drawers. She started removing two guns from the cabinets, attaching them to the belt loops of her skirt somehow, and then she got a handful of knives and slipped them around her hips.

Sakura slipped on a belt with a large pocket on either side of her hips. It was simple, but she looked like she was ready for anything when she grabbed a large khaki bag and slipped it onto her shoulders.

Hinata turned off the stove and TenTen grabbed the car keys. The three of them immediately ran out the door, and the camera followed them out the house and down the sidewalk.

"How are we gonna see em in the cars?" Temari asked, looking unsure.

"Ever heard of the visual technology revolution?" Shikamaru asked. Temari said nothing, but he continued. "Satellites can literally access any form of global electronics in the world. So if my calculations are correct…" He smirked when suddenly the camera blinked and all three squares showed a behind view of the three of them in the car. Hinata was in the back, looking through messages on her cell phone, Sakura in the passenger seat, and TenTen in the drivers seat starting the car. "We are now looking through the back-light of the trunk of their car."

"…Crazy…" Temari whispered. Shikamaru heard it and looked pretty smug.

"Well either way…" Sasuke whispered suddenly. "Seeing them again…it's…"

"Nostalgic? Guilt-inspiring?" Temari asked loudly. She snorted. "Good. I hope all of your chests are aching about now. Those three's lives were ruined because of you." She smirked and turned back to the television. "And I have a feeling they're about to prove you were wrong when you turned your backs on them." she said slyly. "Get ready. You guys are about to get blown away."

**T**e**n**T**e**n

I smiled as I looked out the window, the wind making my hair fly behind me, feeling good against my cheek. The air was cold, as it was still winter, but I liked the feeling of driving along the street as fast as I could go with the windows open. It wasn't like I could actually drive well, though…

"Hey! That was a fucking red light, you idiot!"

"Fuck you!" I yelled out the window. Sakura laughed and punched my arm.

"What happened to telling _me_ to stop the road rage when you were teaching me how to drive?"

"That bastard had it coming. He doesn't know what we're going through! Hell, we're doing a community service!" I said smartly.

"What community, TenTen?" Hinata asked, raising an eyebrow.

I blinked. "Er…The one in our dreams."

"Exactly." Hinata said, laughing.

I turned back to the road, my fingers drumming on the steering wheel. It was true, though. We were helping out. We had been helping out, for half a year now. Ever since _that_ happened. '_That_' was the event that happened - the reason we quit that gang - which was never to be discussed at all, or at least not in specifics. Especially around Sakura. She had gotten over it, though, and we were all back to our same old, goof-off selves.

However not all the time. We'd been doing more than we thought we could. And it all started when we found and saved Ayame.

Ayame was the second girl Orochimaru had taken in. After Sakura had told us everything that had to do with Kabuto, we decided to research even more into everything. Unfortunately, Orochimaru had other plans. Taking over the police station through financial and economic advertising (the police station which wasn't even concerned about anything in the beginning actually and just followed whatever the mayor told them to do), Orochimaru spread his force out and slowly but surely took over Konoha in a manner of weeks. The mayor was mysteriously reported dead - more like suspiciously, since Orochimaru was named mayor after that. And so Orochimaru named Kabuto principal of Konoha High. The old teachers were now missing. Sakura Hinata and I, grim as it was, suspected them to be kept alive but held in jail, tortured, or dead.

We were on our way to a restaurant one night since Hinata wasn't in the mood to cook, when we passed an old abandoned coffee house and saw three Police Officers - who we'd officially named our enemies, as they were working for Orochimaru - dragging a struggling, tall brown-haired girl into the empty coffee house. Immediately Sakura told me to stop the car and Hinata and I stared in shock as she ran up and literally beat the shit out of all three older men, furious and roaring curse words at the top of her lungs.

We took the girl back to the apartment and Hinata had given her hot tea and a blanket. She identified herself as Ayame. She was twenty and new to Konoha with her father, Ichiraku, who worked as an old chef and manager of the ramen stand _Ichiraku's_. Ayame herself was an aspiring chef and helped him out around the now popular stand as a waitress. They lived right above the shop.

She told us that a few days ago she was out on a walk for some fresh air and had been kidnapped and drugged. She woke in the back of their van, and everything was painful. She knew she'd been raped.

Ayame allowed Sakura, who had been studying medical skills more and more now and knew almost everything about medicine, to give her a quick check-up. Ayame was uninjured, except for a few bruises and cuts. And there was the same long slash across her stomach.

We'd let Ayame home to her father, to mourn and recover, and started again in researching. We found out, after a few weeks of looking around, that Orochimaru had taken control of three abandoned buildings, which he used as secret 'lairs'. We called these 'lairs' stations. Stations 1, 2, and 3. These stations were where he kept captives. Most of these captives were young girls that his drunken police officers took to rape and torture, and usually when they were done they'd kill them.

Station 1 was where most of the older women and girls were held. This was the coffee house we'd seen Ayame taken into. Sakura Hinata and I had raided it many times now, but hadn't been able to save a girl yet. All of our tries, the girls had already been dead when we got there. Station 2 was where the younger girls were held, which was an empty office building off the side of a side road. It was the same deal here. And the third station was unknown to us. We only knew the relative location; a tall six-story building that was probably once used for a corporation. This was probably where Orochimaru and his most trusted 'employees' stayed and ran the city. We had yet to enter it.

Orochimaru was clever, however. We had to give him credit. He had somehow worked with his medics and come up with a new drug that killed the women he or his officers had taken slowly and painfully in 24 hours, so it would be less trouble for them. Sakura knew this from looking into one of the dead girls' bloodstreams.

Ayame helped us out now, because she lived right across from Station 1, and she promised to walk by Station 2 every day and keep an eye out for anything that we could possibly help. She texted Sakura's phone every morning, using Hinata's phone (since my phone had been broken by Sasuke, I still didn't have one) and left us messages reporting everything she could.

And where were we going to school now? The answer was simple; no where. We'd cut off all ties to Tsunade and Anko (our counselor) and were spending our time doing all we could to help this town. Help the people. Do what we knew was right. Preventing the things that we didn't want to happen to anyone else.

Unfortunately, it was a hard job. Especially when there were only four people trying to do it in the middle of a gigantic, clueless city. But we did our best.

Even if no one was watching us to give us credit for everything we did.

Even if things didn't work out the way we wanted.

"We're here, TenTen."

"Alright. Let's get started."

**X**X**X**X**X**

And so they're back! I included some characters that you may not recognize. I think you remember old man Ichiraku's daughter Ayame? And the mayor that I included, the one that died - whom I hinted Orochimaru killed? Mayor-fourth Hokage. one that Orochimaru killed in the anime. (or was it the fourth…?) I hope you enjoyed all the info I've packed into the chap. Not much, I know. But I thought long and hard about it, and well, here it is. As creative as I could put it. And of course there's going to be The Akatsuki coming in soon. And there'll be a bunch of deaths and angst and…well, you'll see. :P  
Re-Read & Edited while listening to:_I love NejiTen_ from _a friend_. (seriously, she's over right now and singing "I LOVE NEJITEN!" over and over. It's actually…kinda…catchy…-blinks-)  
Review please? I'm not getting as many reviewers as I used to and it kind of makes me deppressed. without reviews I have no inspiration to write! :(  
thanks for reading!  
xmarachanx


	23. Improvement

Hey guys!  
thanks so much:  
kimiko77, Hoshi-Naito, xXxKimakoxXx, mangamaniacgurl, Jackie, MidniteCurse4Eternity, totalnarutofangirl85, Ukyou-Taisuke, DarkAnimeAngel13, kanna1016, Indigo-Nightfal-Cullen20, XxkikiroxX, Tobi-obsessed, UcHiHaHyUuGa, Herbblade, Skelex, RisingTwinDragons93, Once Upon A Time In Love, Maya-chan2007, Tilders, …, Pnkrockninja101, anthropomorphichybrid, Youkai Koneko, Dreaming101, Uchiha, Nami, Hikoru, Aniki  
thanks so much everyone. unlike some people (ahem), you actually reviews. you make me so happy! :D BTW, _please_ check out my new story called equilibrium, please and thanks. :)  
Enjoy!

**X**X**X**X**X**

**H**e**a**r **N**o **E**v**i**l  
_See no evil. Speak no evil._

**D**i**s**c**l**a**i**m**e**r: Oh emm eff gee, I don't own Naruto. :)  
**S**o**n**g: _Long Kiss Goodbye _by_ Halcali_

C**h**. **T**w**e**n**t**y **T**h**r**e**e - **Improvement Beyond All

_I wish I could tell you, but I can't find the words_  
_Maybe I'd rather listen to you lie,_  
_I can't even say "Don't leave me."_

**x**x**x**x**x**

TenTen grinned on the screen that everyone in the living room were watching interestedly. "Alright, we're here!" she cheered as they pulled up in front of Orochimaru's first station. TenTen stopped the car and swore when she almost ran into another car in front of her.

"TenTen! What the hell do you think you're doing, trying to get us all killed in a car accident?! Watch what you're doing when you're driving, you little idiot!"

"Ah, Sakura, if only _you_ knew how to drive…" she said, waving her hand at Sakura carelessly.

Temari frowned. "Ah, but she has a point, I would have parked much better."

"You're not TenTen, though." Naruto said, blinking.

"Well no shit." Temari muttered. Shikamaru stifled a laugh quickly.

TenTen got out of the car, bouncing a bit, which Neji laughed silently at. Sakura smiled a bit at her. "You know, you gotta admit, it feels good. We haven't had the chance to _really_ save some lives, like…_ever_, right?"

"Totally! I mean, seriously, if we get this chick outa here in one piece - er, without getting my ass kicked like usual by those friggin' guards that seem to be everywhere - it'll be a miracle!"

"Right! We'll do our best!"

"Of course!"

"Hell yeah!" Sakura roared as TenTen punched the air excitedly.

"Quiet down! They might see us!" Hinata hissed quickly, quieting them down nervously and glancing at the entrance to the abandoned coffee house that was station 1. TenTen and Sakura did so immediately, watching it in silence.

Temari raised an eyebrow. "Okay, what are they doing? Do they have to, like, stare at it?"

"I know! What are they doing here anyways?! Damn it, this is crazy!" Naruto shouted impatiently.

"Calm down." Sasuke snapped, pushing Naruto back down.

"…Why isn't anyone attacking us?" Sakura asked after a while, uncertainly.

TenTen groaned. "Damn it! I was so excited! I was gonna wait for em to come right out then I was gonna jump on them and-!"

"TenTen, we don't want to know what kind of gross crap you were going to-"

"I'm not molesting them, eww! Shut your trap, Sakura!"

"Molester! Haha!"

"Shut it!"

"Both of you stop! I'm calling Ayame." Hinata said loudly, and TenTen's hands curled into fists as Sakura stuck her tongue out at her and turned away.

"Ayame?"

Suddenly there was a hiss, and Shikamaru stiffened, startled. "Ah…Looks like we can interfere with this… 'Ayame's signals as well." he said, and he clicked a bit on the computer. There was a few more hisses and scratching sounds, then a small, shy voice spoke up.

"…_our for a lunch break, so you're good to go._"

"That's perfect!" Hinata said sweetly. "Arigatou, Ayame-san!"

"_You're welcome. Good luck. And tell TenTen and Sakura not to fight each other and fight the enemy this time."_

Hinata laughed. "Point taken. Bye."

"_Bye._"

Hinata replaced her phone in her pocket and turned to the other two. "Alright. The guards are out on a lunch break inside, so we're lucky."

"Right." Sakura said. "So what, we'll pick the lock?"

"If we can. If not, you'll have to knock it down again, Sakura."

"Ugh…okay…"

"_What_?!" Temari cried.

"Break down a door, what the hell…?" Sasuke whispered, eyes huge.

"Shhh!" Naruto hissed as if he was watching his favorite TV show and didn't want to be disturbed.

They quieted down and watched. TenTen whipped a hairclip out of her belt and handed it to Hinata, who bent over the lock and fidgeted around with it. The other two waited, watching her, until there was a click and she stood back. TenTen was in front now, pulling out her gun, Sakura in the middle, and Hinata in the back. She peeked through the

TenTen pulled her sweater around herself and glanced back at the others. "Ready?" she whispered. They nodded. She smirked and suddenly she put her gun back and flung the doors wide open.

The camera switched to the front lobby of the coffee house. Three men whipped around and jumped off of the stools at the counter, staring at them.

TenTen smiled warmly when they pulled out their guns and glared at her. "What are you three doing here?! Get out!"

"Hey, hey, that's not nice!" TenTen said, pouting. "No 'Welcome to our secret warehouse of raping'? Sheesh!" Sakura snorted into her hands and burst out laughing. Hinata's lips twitched. Meanwhile, Temari and Naruto were laughing so hard Naruto fell over again and Temari almost spilled a beer bottle. Neji was shaking his head, looking at TenTen as if trying to say, 'You haven't changed.'

"Sh…Shut up, don't you dare mock us, you little bitch!" one of them men roared. He shot his gun at her, but somehow, with TenTen barely moving, it missed her. She kept on smiling, and everyone watching at the hideout stopped laughing and stared at her, a little surprised.

"Hey. That was even ruder." she said, suddenly in a darker tone.

"Hey!" Sakura yelled suddenly, angrily, when one of the men grabbed Hinata, stuffing her arms behind her back and pressing her to him. She winced but shook her head when Sakura and TenTen started for them. Naruto sat up again and glared.

"Son of a bitch…" he whispered. Sasuke whacked him on the head to make him shut up.

"Hey, don't touch her, alright?" TenTen said, turning to the other two men with their guns pointed straight at her, raising her hands slowly. "We're here to make a deal with you."

"Then get over here, pinky." one of them said. Sakura's eyebrow twitched, and TenTen and Hinata both winced for a second, but she calmed herself. She smiled warmly. "Shake on it." the man continued, holding out a hand while the other man held out her gun at her.

She nodded and walked forward. Her heels clacked on the hollowed out cement, echoing in against the cold walls. She grabbed the man's hand.

Suddenly TenTen laughed. "Nice, Sakura. You got him."

"What?" the man with the free hands demanded.

She smirked. "You heard me. We have you now. You're as good as gone."

"Shut up! I swear to god I'll shoot you, and your pretty little white-eyed friend here!" The man holding Hinata yelled, tightening his grip on Hinata. She just smiled.

"You won't be shooting anyone." TenTen said simply. Suddenly she pointed a finger to the ceiling. Everyone was silent, staring at her, as Sakura held onto the man's hand. Suddenly the man yelled out, screaming. Blood dripped from Sakura's hand.

"Oh my god…" Temari whispered. "She's crushing his hand…!"

It was true. Thick globs of blood squeezed from between her fingers plopping to the ground sickeningly.

And TenTen suddenly threw her sweater to the side. "Surprise!" she sang. The men's eyes widened at the sight. Her belt was filled with knives and three guns, weapons everywhere.

"Whoa…she looks kick-ass!" Naruto exclaimed.

Hinata smirked. "Start." she said suddenly.

In a second, Sakura yelled out in concentration and turned around, throwing the man with all the strength she had and letting go of his ruined hand. He flew from her and slammed into the cement wall, which crumbled at the impact and fell on him in a cloud of dust. The other man growled and ran towards the man with Hinata, but Sakura punched him out quickly. TenTen leaped over Sakura and Hinata ducked quickly. TenTen kicked the man holding her straight in the face, and he dropped to the ground. She got footing on Hinata's connected hands behind her back and flipped back over, landing right behind Sakura. The three all straightened up and grinned.

"Finished." Hinata said simply.

Temari was gaping. "Holy _crap_…!" she yelled, leaning forward and staring. "When did they-?!"

"GO HINATA! WOO! YEAH! THEY ROCKED! WOO-HOO!" Naruto roared, cheering and punching the air excitedly. "Did you _see _them?! Who knew they could do shit like _that_! Yeah! Temari, you were so right! Woo! Yeah, alright, woo-!"

"Naruto, you're not watching wrestling, damn it, sit down so I can see!" Temari yelled.

He pouted and did so, bouncing up and down, though. Sasuke sighed. "He's sugar-high again." he muttered.

"But…" Neji said suddenly. "He has a point."

"See?!" Naruto said.

"Shut up, dobe!" Sasuke hissed.

"Both of you shut up." Neji said quietly, staring at the screen. "I don't think they're through."

The three girls on the screen slapped hands happily, by TenTen's request of course, and entered the back room.

Unaware that they were being watched at all times.

**H**i**n**a**t**a

"Okay, they're done with. Sakura, give em the drug." TenTen said, waving her hand at Sakura.

She nodded and kneeled down by the first, pulling out a bottle of something from her pocket. This was a special poison she'd cooked up through hours of studying chemistry and physics that would make a person lose their short term memory. She'd tested it on TenTen first, knocking her out and giving her the drug to have her wake up not having a clue what had happened. Apparently to Sakura it was humorous to tell her TenTen had been knocked down by a gigantic panda.

When Sakura's forced the drug down all three men's throats and TenTen collected her sweater, we walked through the back door behind the counter and looked around. It was an empty storage room. Completely empty…

"Where is she…?" Sakura asked, confused.

I narrowed my eyes. "Did she escape?" I wondered aloud. I glanced around. A counter, a few boxes, a refrigerator…

My eyes widened. A refrigerator?

"Hinata?" TenTen asked as I walked slowly and carefully over to the refrigerator and placed a hand on the handle. She raised an eyebrow. "You think…she's in there…?"

Sakura snorted. "Okay, whatever you say."

"Quiet." I said. I raised my voice. "Hello? We're here to help you."

Sakura sniggered. "Talking to a fridge…" she muttered under her breath as TenTen stifled her laughs with a hand. I rolled my eyes and tried again.

"Hello? I'll open the door if you won't answer me, or open it yourself. By force."

"Pfft…Come on out, preservatives…" TenTen squealed into her hands. Sakura coughed while trying to stop her giggles.

I closed my eyes impatiently. "Alri-"

"Okay, okay, I'm coming out!"

I blinked when the door suddenly opened and a girl stumbled out, coughing a bit. She looked up at me and glared. her hair was long and black with side swept bangs, and she had grey-green eyes. She looked about my age, and she was dressed in her undergarments only, with a flimsy thin white shirt on over it that was ripped a bit, trying in vain to cover herself. I grimaced. She'd been raped.

TenTen and Sakura gaped. "Um…I take it back." TenTen said quickly, holding her hands up in mock surrender. Sakura nodded, looking ashamed.

I ignored them and put a hand out to help the girl up, smiling as warmly as I could. Inside, I was excited. Someone alive. Someone I could save! "Are you hurt?"

However, she wasn't exactly willing…

"I don't need your damn help." With that, she spit onto my palm.

"You little-!" TenTen yelled furiously, and Sakura ran over to slap the girl but I stopped her, wincing and wiping my palm on my skirt slowly.

"Alright. If you don't need our help we'll leave you to the men in there to kill you. Or rape you again." I nodded to her stomach, where they'd slashed her across the abdomen. To mark their territory…

She stared at me. "How…do you know about all this…? Who are you…?"

"Heroines. Your worst nightmare. And on weekends, we sell ice cream." TenTen said simply. "It doesn't matter who we are. You should be thanking us for saving you, not spitting at us."

Sakura nodded. "We're trying to help you out here because you actually have a chance to live. So cooperate."

The girl narrowed her eyes. "Why are you so concerned with _me_? You don't know me, why would you care if I lived or died?"

I paused. "Because…" I glanced at TenTen and Sakura. "…We know how you feel…" I said quietly.

**x**x**x**x**x**

"What's your name?"

"No comment."

"Age?"

"Pass."

"Do you have any parents?"

"No answer."

"Where do you go to school?"

"Not tellin'."

"What-?"

"Damn it, Hinata, just let me kill her!" TenTen yelled as she swerved the car a bit. We were on our way home. I was in the back with the girl, who was holding onto herself, hugging her waist and hiding her face in the window, gazing out of it blankly and muttering useless answers to my questions. Sakura looked like she was about to kill something.

"Quiet, TenTen, and be careful, you'll run us into something." I responded simply. We needed to keep our minds with us for this. Sakura said that the girl wasn't in need of any immediate emergency care, and she'd try to check up on her back at home. I sighed and turned back to her. "Please. We need this information to help you out, alright? Just answer at least one question and I promise I'll leave you alone."

"Fine."

"What's your name?"

"…Haruhi…"

"Haruhi." I repeated. "No last name…?"

"…Sukiyaki."

"Haruhi Sukiyaki…I'm Hinata Hyuuga. It's nice to meet you. These are my friends, TenTen and Sakura Haruno." The other two said nothing. Haruhi just grunted carelessly.

"…You won't tell us your age…?" I asked hesitantly.

"…Seventeen…"

"Oh, that's TenTen's age too."

"Hmph." TenTen and Haruhi both let out at the same time.

"Your parents…?" I asked, trying to ignore that.

"Dead." Haruhi said coldly. "That Orochimaru bastard killed them, probably. They were sent to jail cause they wrote bouncy checks or some shit like that, so…"

"A…Ah…" I said softly. I cleared my throat. "You…really do have a lot in common with TenTen…"

"Hmph." The two muttered again.

I closed my eyes and exhaled slowly to calm myself. "Haruhi…do you go to school…?"

"I used to go to Konoha High. But not for about a month or so, since my parents got murdered. I ran away…I've been living on the streets. Till some bastards grabbed me and threw me into their car and knocked me out. They kept me in the car in the black, and they raped me when I was unconscious. I woke up in there, and I knew they were going to come back to get me, so I did my best to hide." she muttered.

"…Oh…" I said softly. "That…answered all of my questions."

"Whatever." She glanced at me, and I saw that the reason she'd been hiding her face was because tears had been running down her cheeks silently. "So now it's my turn." she said darkly. "What about you three, huh? What's your story?"

I smiled grimly. "Well…we moved here about half a year ago, and we…um…"

"Got into some trouble." TenTen said simply for me.

"Ran into a couple idiots that blackmailed us. And I ended up getting into the same situation as you." She turned into the seat and pulled her shirt up to show her stomach only, revealing the long ghastly scar.

Haruhi seemed to have a new respect for us now when she saw that, staring at Sakura curiously as she pulled her shirt back down and turned around again. "…Oh…" She cleared her throat. "But why are you together?"

I laughed. "Because we're friends, that's why. We love each other."

"Pfft." Haruhi scoffed and turned back to the window. "That's stupid."

"What is?" Sakura asked.

"Love. Friendship. It's stupid." she said simply. "It's not gonna get you anywhere in life."

TenTen groaned. "Wow, you really are stupid." she said loudly.

"TenTen." I whispered. She said nothing more, but she had a look on her face like she was quite impatient with the girl.

I, however, pitied her more than anything.

**x**x**x**x**x**

"So how's she doing?" I asked quietly as Sakura exited the room. TenTen was sitting on the stool at the kitchen counter, swinging her legs and watching Sakura expectantly as I walked up to her.

She closed the door behind Haruhi, who was sitting on Sakura's bed gloomily, wearing TenTen's old school uniform. Sakura sat next to TenTen on the stool and sighed.

"She's not injured down there. She's just gonna ache a bit, but she's probably used to it already judging from her body language. However, she's emotionally scarred and…" She closed her eyes. "But they didn't get the time to inject her with the poison. I checked her blood, and it's not thick or anything. She's going to be fine."

TenTen sighed in relief, then laughed excitedly. "Sakura, that means-!"

"Yes. We actually saved someone this time." she said happily. I put a hand to my forehead. I had been shaking. I smiled.

"Finally…!" I whispered.

"AHHHH!"

Haruhi suddenly screamed from the bedroom. Sakura TenTen and I looked at each other, and TenTen leapt from the stool, running to the bedroom and crashing the door open. She saw Haruhi being dragged out the window. Sakura screamed, and TenTen swore and ran forward, flinging herself at the window and trying to grab Haruhi, but she was pulled from the window, fingers weakly clambering at the windows will before letting go and disappearing from sight.

TenTen bent out the window as far as she could and almost fell. "SON OF A BITCH!" she yelled furiously out the window as Sakura ran over and pulled her back in.

I stared at her as she breathed hard. "Who was it?"

"Some bastard police officer! He fucking climbed up to the window and broke it open to get to her! Shit, I _knew_ we should have closed it!" she yelled as she grabbed her gun. "Come on!"

I nodded and Sakura pulled me after TenTen, all three of us running as fast as we could out of the house. We saw a black car pulling away, and TenTen jumped into the car, barely giving me and Sakura time to get in, and zoomed away after it, speeding dangerously for her driving skills, the doors still open. Sakura and I slammed all the doors shut as we went along and she stuck her gun out the window, shooting at the tires of the car. The bullets missed, and she grit her teeth.

"TenTen, hurry! It's going to the main road, we have to stop it!" Sakura cried.

"I'm trying! It's kinda hard driving and trying to shoot a car's tires at the same time you know!" TenTen yelled, frustrated as she shot again. This time it hit a tire, and she grinned. "Yes!" The car squealed, the tire sparking and falling off, spiraling to a halt at the curb of the road and clanging loudly.

"Try it again!" I said quickly.

"Way ahead of you. Watch this!" She shot at the gas tank this time, and the car stopped all together, screeching and turning around once. Fire erupted from the trunk.

"Hah! They all have to run out now! Brilliant!" Sakura said, clenching a fist.

"Wait, how do you know she's not in the trunk?" I asked quickly.

"She's probably in the back seats." TenTen said as she exited. "You guys stay right here, alright? Come out if something bad starts happening, for now I'll try to sneak around and get her."

"Okay. I'll be ready." Sakura said, opening the front door. I climbed to the front as well, waiting.

TenTen smirked and loaded her gun. "Let's do this…"

**x**x**x**x**x**

Meanwhile, everyone in the hideout were staring at the screen. It was like watching a modern action movie with their favorite celebrities replaced by their long lost friends.

"They're incredible…!" Shikamaru said, looking astounded.

"They've changed." Neji said.

"Their fighting, their style, everything." Sasuke said, nodding in agreement. "They're still the same, but they're…different."

"It's like they've grown or something." Naruto said, his voice hushed in awe.

Temari smirked. "What did I tell you?" She sat back proudly. "I'll tell you what happened. They've improved, that's what." They all couldn't help but agree. However, Temari wasn't finished. "And not just that. They've improved their skills, everything about them, beyond anything you can imagine. And that's because of what happened back then. See, this is what happens when you have someone to care about. You're stronger. So that chick, Haruhi…she was wrong. They care about each other so much…I bet they can take down anyone they meet."

She narrowed her eyes.

"Even Orochimaru."

**X**X**X**X**X**

Guys, good news! I have an estimated guess about how long this story's gonna be! (Estimated. That means I'm not completely sure - or sure at all - yet, so don't get your hopes up. :P) Chapter-wise, I'd say about fourteen more chapters, so that would be…um… - an hour later after many un-necessary mathematical equations - thirty seven! I'm smart, oh yesssssss! XD Anyways, so yeah, thirty seven. Or maybe even more. We'll see. :)  
Re-Read & Edited while listening to: _He lives in you_ from _The lion king the musical._ XD  
Time to collect the taxes! XP Let's say I'd enjoy 800 reviews. that would be nice. Oh, and you know what else would be nice? _**if you would read and review my new story called equilibrium! yeah, yeah! check it out!!!**_ see, I don't have very many reviews on it, and it really hurts my feelings. also, people, seriously. why favorite this story if you're not going to review it? yeah, I saw that, all of you people who are favoriting it. cause it pops up in my email when you do. but there is a lackage of emails that say review. it makes me depressed and gives you, wa-la, late updates. :(  
thanks for reading!  
xmarachanx


	24. Don't Let Go

Hello! Thanks so much for the 800+ reviews, everyone, that was so great! :D  
hugs for:  
Uchiha, Nami, kanna1016, Hikoru, Aniki, ShinobiXAngel, MidniteCurse4Eternity, kimiko77, The Laughing Phoenix, ..., XxkikiroxX, Tilders, Pnkrockninja101, UcHiHaHyUuGa, Tobi-obsessed, mangamaniacgurl, Once Upon A Time In Love, 91, Jackie, Chigiri Sasaki, RisingTwinDragons93, Youkai Koneko, waterdragonrai, Maya-chan2007, Dreaming101, Kick -Assing -Kunoichi, anthropomorphichybrid, xXxKimakoxXx, EmiKoizumi.x, totalnarutofangirl85, jaberjazz  
thanks again, guys. and if anyone's wondering, yeah, I didn't go to school today cause I'm uber sick. ugh. xP  
Enjoy!

**X**X**X**X**X**

**H**e**a**r **N**o **E**v**i**l  
_See no evil. Speak no evil._

**D**i**s**c**l**a**i**m**e**r: Oh emm eff gee, I don't own Naruto. :)  
**S**o**n**g: _Long Kiss Goodbye _by_ Halcali_

C**h**. **T**w**e**n**t**y **F**o**u**r** - **Don't Let Go…

_When you let go of my hand,_  
_Will you forget about me?_  
_I wish I could tell you, but I can't find the words_  
_Maybe I'd rather listen to you lie, _  
_I can't even say "Don't leave me."_

**H**i**n**a**t**a

TenTen narrowed her eyes, chewing her bottom lip as she quickly flattened herself against the side of the car, Sakura and I watching from our car, our hands on our guns carefully. I saw everyone getting out, coughing, and spotted someone at front. '_TenTen was right…!_'

"TENTEN!"

I blinked when I heard Sakura scream and TenTen shrieked when someone tried to punch her from behind, twisting around and dodging it, then grabbed him myself and put a dagger to his neck. He opened his mouth but TenTen slapped a hand over it and motioned to me to come get Haruhi and Sakura to help.

We nodded and took action immediately. Sakura covered me up to the car and we both got to TenTen, and I fled to the darkness inside the car. I focused my eyes through the darkness of the tinted windows and tried to spot Haruhi. I finally did and crawled over to her, relieved. Then I noticed she was sobbing in the corner of the trunk, she had retreated as far back as she could.

I reached out a hand and held her hand. "Haruhi."

She stiffened and looked up at me. "H-Hinata…?"

"Are you alright?"

"…I…I…" She was shaking, I noticed, and suddenly she grabbed me as if she was a child clinging to her mother. "Get me out of here…please…please…!" She was brought into the brighter area of the car, and I noticed that her eyes were covered by something. A black band. "I can't see…Hinata…help me, please, don't let go…!"

I reached up and took the band off of her eyes, but they were closed tightly, and she held tighter onto my arm. "Help…help…" she repeated over and over again. I could feel her pulse beneath my fingers on her wrist, racing dangerously.

"Haruhi, it's alright." I said as reassuringly as I could, trying to take her out of the car.

"I want the sun back…!" she sobbed. "Help, help…!"

I couldn't understand what was wrong with her. But I knew I had to get her out of here, so I flung her arm around my shoulders and pulled her out.

"H-Hey, Hina, you wanna hurry it up the-_gah_!" TenTen groaned when she was punched in the stomach from the man trying to fight her off.

"Come on!" I said quickly as I ran with a slumped Haruhi barely keeping up, half-dragging-half-carrying her, to the car and flung ourselves into the back seats. Sakura ran over quickly, and TenTen pushed the man on top of her off and dashed to the car, slamming the door shut and zooming off, the tires screeching.

**x**x**x**x**x**

"So she's afraid of the dark?" TenTen asked quietly as Sakura checked a sleeping Haruhi's body for injuries. "Like, _that_ afraid of the dark?"

"It's probably one of those genetic phobias." Sakura said. She smirked. "Like your fear of eggs."

TenTen stuck her tongue out. "They're _gross_! How can you not want them to get away from you?! They freak me out!"

"I can never understand how you can be so scared of eggs of all things but you have no problem with spiders." Sakura said, giggling.

Hinata smiled a bit as well as TenTen just pouted. "Sakura, how's Haruhi doing?"

"She'll be fine." Sakura said as she smirked in TenTen's direction. "They hit her a bit, but she'll be okay. And that fear of the dark, I'll have to ask her about it. It could just be genetic, but it could also be from childhood experiences, something like that…Hey TenTen, did your parents ever force you to eat raw eggs or something?"

TenTen grimaced. "Shut it!"

"Come on, it's a mystery!"

"I'll give you a mystery where your ass is!"

"Hey Hinata, want to make some eggs for breakfast tomorrow?"

"Do you _want_ to die?!"

"Both of you be quiet." I said sternly. "You'll wake her up."

They both walked out of the room quickly and I heard a low, "OUCH! TenTen, I was kidding, stupid, you don't have to hit me with a pi-OWW!"

"Hah! That's what you get, forehead! How about you, what's your phobia? People calling you ugly?! You're in for a-OWW!"

I put a hand to my forehead, exasperated, and closed the door.

"Mmm…"

I turned to Haruhi as she sat up painfully. The windows were locked, and now there was a gun on her bedside table, but I didn't think they'd be coming back for her again. I smiled. "How are you feeling?"

"…Fine." she muttered sullenly. I sat down at the foot of her bed without invitation, but she didn't seem to mind. She drew her legs to herself and propped her chin on her knees. "…So you figured it out huh…?" she mumbled suddenly.

I glanced at her. "Did something happen that made you so scared?" I asked, remembering what Sakura said.

To my surprise, she nodded. "…Mom and dad…would always leave in the middle of the night to go to a bar. And I'd be stuck at home in the dark. Ever since I was really little that would happen. They didn't know it scared me so much, it wasn't their fault. B-But, it was awful…" She closed her eyes. "I hate the dark. I love the sun. It's cliché, but I do. The sun…warmth…It's so much better than those long, cold nights in the black…"

I smiled. "And you still think that friendship and love are stupid when you think that way?"

She frowned. "Friendship and love have nothing to do with sunshine and warmth, believe it or not."

I kept my smile. "You don't know much." I said softly. I put a hand out and brushed a tear from her cheek, then tilted her head to look at me, feeling very motherly. "I think…you'll figure it out soon enough." I decided. "And you won't feel so scared anymore."

My hand left her surprised face, and I stood. "I'll go make some hot chocolate for all of us. I think TenTen has some wounds that Sakura needs to take care of, and I'm sure we could all use the warmth. We don't really have much heat or insulation in this house."

I could feel her eyes following me curiously all the way out.

**x**x**x**x**x**

"Tell me again why we're doing this?" TenTen muttered.

We'd gotten a text from Ayame saying that there was a fire at a house down the street from Ichiraku's, and thought that it might have been cause by some police men's bombs, and so we should check it out. We'd agreed, but now we had one more passenger; Haruhi.

"We can't leave her alone in the house." I said simply. "An officer might come and take her again. We have to keep an eye on her."

TenTen and Sakura didn't look too enthusiastic about keeping an eye on her, rude as she was. But what I said was final, they knew, and so they said nothing. TenTen slowed the car down when we caught sight of the house. The fire was gone now, but something was suspiciously weak-looking about it.

"Think we should check it out?" TenTen asked as she parked the car warily in front of it. There were no officers near the place, but we were still careful. "You know, see if someone's there?"

"Probably." Sakura said, reaching for her bag. "Someone might be injured or something and the officers just left em there."

"Alright. Haruhi, come with us." I said.

"What? Why?" TenTen asked as Haruhi just walked out of the car after me. Sakura and TenTen ran around the car to us and we walked slowly up to the house.

"Because I can't cover her as well as you could, so we need to take her with us." I said simply. "We'll cover her easily with all three of us."

"Alright, alright…" Sakura said, sighing. She pressed her weight, which was a lot, against the door, and it opened. She smirked. "Nice, it's unlocked for once."

"Sweet." TenTen said, grinning. Then she lost her grin. "Or not…damn, it's another trap, isn't it?"

"Let's not be too sure. It might not be." Sakura said. She opened the door all the way and TenTen immediately pointed her gun inside.

I noticed Haruhi gulp beside me and frowned; it was dark.

TenTen entered first and coughed. "It's smoky…" she said hoarsely.

"Well what did you expect?" Sakura asked. She walked in and the floorboards creaks. She winced as dust and ash fell from the ceiling. "At least the fire's gone…"

Cracks in the walls allowed light to slip in as narrow beams, and Haruhi kept glancing at those beams as if for reassurance. I stayed close to her side and we began to walk through the house.

"Anyone in here?" Sakura called as TenTen waved dust away from her face. Sakura pointed a flashlight around as she spoke. "We're not gonna hurt you, we're here to help." No answer, just the whistles of the cold wind through the broken windows. "Hello?" she tried again. Nothing. She sighed, wiping her hands on her skirt. "Time to look for little hints, then. Someone might've run off somewhere in the house."

"…Hey…" Haruhi said suddenly. We all looked at her, and she was pointing to the roof. There was a spot where excessive dust was falling. As if something was on top of the roof, their weight causing more disruption to the house than other places. Or someone…

I gasped. "Of course! They escaped to the roof! Probably to avoid the officers!"

"Brilliant, Haruhi!" Sakura said excitedly. Haruhi just looked scared.

"Well come on, then!" TenTen said, and we all nodded. We found the stairs and ran up. I saw a room where the door was closed and frowned. "Let's see…" I tried to open it. There was no lock, but it wouldn't budge. "They've barricaded it." I said after one more try.

"I've got this." Sakura said with a small smirk. She stepped forward and felt the door, then exhaled slowly. "HAH!" she sent a foot and a fist flying at the wood, and it immediately kicked in, something screeching on the other side as it scraped against the wood floor, then there was a large bang.

"Alright, one more time, Sakura, so your fat ass can fit in." TenTen said, grinning as she slipped easily through the door.

"SHUT YOUR TRAP!" she yelled furiously as she followed. I sighed and pushed Haruhi through, entering behind her.

There had been a bed and a large wardrobe pushed in front of the door, so no one could get through. When Sakura had kicked the door in she'd knocked the bed down, which had created the bang. TenTen immediately spotted the open window and walked over. She turned around and slipped through it backwards, putting her feet on the sill. "Alright, guys, it's pretty easy to get up." she called, and her feet disappeared.

Sakura went next, and she helped Haruhi through. I went next. My feet hit the sill and my hands grasped the tiles above me. I saw Sakura helping Haruhi up, TenTen already on the roof waiting to give her hand as help to me as well. I grit my teeth and pushed myself up to the tiles, then began climbing up. TenTen gave her hand to me and helped hoist me up after Sakura and Haruhi got up together. Then we turned.

"There." I said quickly. There was a person lying on their side on the roof.

Sakura ran over quickly and skidded to her knees in front of the person, wrenching them over. She bit her lip, and I swallowed hard; his eyes were wide open.

Sakura felt his pulse. We all waited, Haruhi looking scared. Then Sakura dropped it and hung her head. "He's dead…" she said sadly.

TenTen and I both drooped for a bit, disappointed.

"I can't believe it…" I whispered. "How?"

"He's been shot." Sakura said softly, looking over him. "Many times. He must've dragged himself up here then just died."

"That's awful…" I said as TenTen ran a hand through her hair. Haruhi seemed distressed, and she backed away.

"This city's crazy…" TenTen muttered.

"We knew that as soon as we got here." I said with a small weak smile.

Sakura heaved a sigh and stood. "Well…what's done is done…" she said, dusting herself off. "We might as well-"

"AH!"

All of us snapped around and I threw myself forward immediately and grabbed onto Haruhi's hand. The tiles beneath her had fallen in, and now she was dangling by my hand over the darkness.

"Hinata!" Sakura screamed. She ran forward, but TenTen grabbed her and pulled her back.

"Sakura, you'll fall in! Let me do this!" TenTen yelled.

"No, neither of you come near!" I cried. We all understood now. The roof had been weakened from the flames, and the are around me was far too weak. I was close to falling in as well.

I closed my eyes, feeling my heart beat increase and my hands shake, I held on as tight as I could to Haruhi's own sweaty one.

She stared up at me, and suddenly I saw something in her eyes, an expression on her face I couldn't quite place. But I did recognize the small sad smile.

"Haruhi…" I whispered. "No…No, no, don't you _dare_ let go!" I yelled, my voice anguished.

She shook her head slowly. "Hinata…I don't think it's stupid anymore…" she said as her eyes welled with tears. She closed them and one tear trickled down her pale cheek. That cheek that had been through so much, those eyes that had seen too many. That body that had been misused by men. The person I pitied so much.

I could only stare at her, my own eyes huge and frightened.

"Friendship, love…" she continued. "And you know why?"

I could say nothing.

But she opened her eyes, and she looked so _happy_.

"Because your hand on my face was warm." she said sweetly. "It was warm like sunshine."

And then she let go, and fell into the darkness.

"HARUHI!"

"Hinata, stop!" TenTen yelled, and she grabbed me before the tiles fell in around me, pulling me back. "Hurry, move!" she cried to Sakura, who was just standing there seeming terrified. "This place is falling down!" I heard the sadness in TenTen's voice, but all I could do was let her pull me away as I sobbed.

**x**x**x**x**x**

"That's awful…" Sakura whispered as we walked up to our house from the car. I was in a numb state. I'd been thinking hard. All the way home in the silent car ride.

"And she was afraid of the dark too…" TenTen said quietly, sadly.

The sun was shining brightly through the clouds, and it warmed my cheek.

I smiled and looked up at the sky.

"But she wasn't in the dark." I said softly.

**X**X**X**X**X**

Oh, don't worry, it gets worse than this. :P  
Re-Read & Edited while listening to: _Family Guy_. Oh yeah. It's epic. XD  
Reviews? 830 would be nice please. :)  
thanks for reading!  
xmarachanx


	25. One Million

Hello everyone! First off, thanks to the reviewers:  
_UcHiHaHyUuGa, StrawberrySmoothie99, Skelex, ., totalnarutofangirl85, Herbblade, Midnight Freesia, waterdragonrai, The Square, eviltwin222, ShinobiXAngel, kimiko77, Tobi-obsessed, Pnkrockninja101, Youkai Koneko, DarkAnimeAngel13, XxkikiroxX, anthropomorphichybrid, Ukyou-Taisuke, Uchiha, Nami, Hikoru, Aniki, Princess of Storms, Sasu-Saku-cherryblossom, .., MidniteCurse4Eternity, , ayame_81131, weiquan1, DeviouslyDementedAuthors, turtlechick, xXxKimakoxXx, Metal-Blondie, Maya-chan2007, , -GIRLNEXTDOORR, innesgirl, Dreaming101, Chigiri Sasaki, mangamaniacgurl, Music 1s my s0ul, pigorama, Nerd4eva, litecloud, BleedingBlackRainbows, , xxxMizuki-chanxxx, SparkyCasper, -Uchiha, BlackElement7  
_You know, it's funny. The more I bash Sakura, the more reviewers I get. I should bash Sakura more often, ne? :P Seriously, guys, if you're only gonna review, like, once, and only to vote for SasuSaku, that's just…pathetic…OH, but at least I didn't get a flame! No, not even once! I'm so lucky. :)  
**THE RESULTS OF EPIC WIN!**  
**LeeSaku won** (yay. x3), _however _I've decided after a lot of plot-reviewing that **I'd like to keep **the 'three vs. three' atmosphere in here. Like the NejiTen, NaruHina, and (sigh) **SasuSaku**… Also, this is my last SasuSaku (except for requests on An Artist's Touch), so I'd like to do my best at it. A nice way to bid farewell to SasuSaku, ne? I'm so sorry, LeeSaku voters. You were the majority. But don't worry! LeeSaku will survive in all my other stories! :D  
**And the joke voting:** SasuSaku and Sakura are both down, like, negative seventeen points. And NejiTen and TenTen are both up…er…so high I can't even count. O_O Which proves, statistically, that **NejiTen is fucking epic win and kicks teh ass of SasuSaku, and TenTen is fucking epic win and kicks teh ass of Sakura**. Bathe in this display of win above, SasuSaku and Sakura lovers, because LeeSaku and NejiTen have burned you dearly. _Bathe in it._ –evil grin- Thank you for all the voting! XD  
Enjoy!

**X**X**X**X**X**

**H**e**a**r **N**o **E**v**i**l  
_See no evil. Speak no evil._

**D**i**s**c**l**a**i**m**e**r: Oh emm eff gee, I don't own Naruto. :)  
**S**o**n**g: _The Rose _by Bette Midler

C**h**. **T**w**e**n**t**y **E**i**g**h**t – **Flying and Falling

_When the night has been too lonely  
And the road has been too long  
And you think that love is only  
For the lucky and the strong  
Just remember in the winter far beneath the bitter snows  
Lies the seed that with the sun's love  
In the spring becomes the rose_

**T**e**n**T**e**n

I pressed my foot against the gas and stared at the sleet and sludge-filled street in front of me, other cars rumbling past, all at a slow pace because of the weather.

And I was going much, much faster than them.

"Hurry, TenTen, faster!" Sakura hissed desperately, poking me anxiously from the passenger seat.

"Shut it, Saki, alright? I'm trying!" I snapped. "The weather's too bad to be driving fast, especially with _me _in front of the wheel, so give it some time. We have all day!"

"Yeah? Well how will we know what day and night even are when it's so fucking dark out, huh?!"

"Are you blaming Konoha's crappy weather on me?! Do you want me to magically make it sunny and nice like it was in Kiri?! Well I'm sorry, I'm not a genie, so you'll have to try your luck else-OWW! You _bitch_, stop the shit before I run our sorry asses into a fucking tree!"

As usual, Hinata was the one to break me and Sakura up, and I turned grouchily back to the steering wheel, cursing the slush in my mind. It was disgusting outside, the hail and frozen rain tapping on the windshield in an annoying tattoo. The sky was completely gray, like it normally would be at the bridge of night, covered with mounds and mounds of dark storm clouds.

What a gloomy fucking day. I didn't have a good temper on these kinds of weeks. And it was even worse that we'd woken up about fifteen minutes ago due to a call on Sakura's cell phone from Ayame, telling us that there was another job to be done.

"TenTen…" Sakura whined, pounding her fists into her thighs impatiently.

"Sakura, you're the one that's usually so scared to go faster." Hinata said. "I know we have a job, but Ayame said that she's probably already dead, as usual. We don't need to be so anxious."

Sakura sighed. "I know, but I just feel like going faster. I feel like something's wrong." She looked out the window, flecked with snow and rain and mud. I felt kind of sick to my stomach looking at this car in that state. We'd taken a lot of effort to steal it, a nice black sport's car, after my truck had been burned to the ground (I was still _extremely_ upset about that…), and getting it ruined like this was _not_ pleasant. "We're going to the second station, right?"

"That's what Ayame said." Hinata said, nodding.

"We're just about there." I announced as we turned a corner hastily.

As we drove, the tires squealing just a bit, indignant towards the rain, my fingers tightened a bit on the steering wheel.

"When are we gonna talk about this?" I asked finally, softly.

Sakura and Hinata were both silent for a bit, before Hinata heaved a sigh and sat back. "About…?" she said softly. Although both of them knew what I was talking about.

I explained anyways. "We need to figure out what Orochimaru's trying to do." I said in an undertone. "We know he's working up to something, but we don't understand."

Sakura put a hand to her lips but said nothing, and Hinata closed her eyes. "TenTen...Do you really think there's anything we can do?"

"I'm starting to think that." I defended myself gently. "I mean…What if-?"

"We're here." Sakura announced suddenly.

I grit my teeth and stopped the car. All three of us got out, and I trailed my fingers along the window, watching the droplets clinging to my skin, sliding along like a line of slime from some long-lost slug. I turned to Sakura and Hinata, waiting for me, and I pulled out my gun, loading it carefully and patting myself down to check that my weapons were in the right places. This time, we didn't have a clue about the whereabouts of the guards. Our hopes were that they were out to breakfast at the moment, but we could never be sure. We had to be prepared at all times.

Everything was where it should be, so I nodded to the other two, and we walked down the sidewalk towards the station. No one came out to attack us, so we cracked the lock on the door and went right on in with confidence. The fear had been sucked out of us long ago.

No one was there. No one to attack us, no one to confront us, no one to stop us. It was perfect, a little _too_ perfect. As Sakura, Hinata and I looked around, we noticed a bit of an air of content. I shared a look with the two, and we went into the back room.

The first thing I noticed was the smell, and I immediately hid my nose in the crook of my arm. '_Sick!_' That smell I could recognize even though I'd never had the displeasure of smelling it so closely before.

"Disgusting…" Sakura whispered as Hinata wrinkled her nose.

Hinata exhaled and entered the room, pointing at the floor. My heart sped up, and my stomach seemed to twist around itself. The sad form of a half-naked girl lay on the ground. Fluids covered her; blood and other substances I didn't dare take a second glance at. All three of us closed our eyes. She was dead already, there was no doubt about it. This was the only way we could honor her.

"Should we cremate her?" I whispered after a while, still not looking.

"No." Hinata said quietly. "We've already done one cremation this week. We can't risk another one. It might get attention, people might get suspicious."

"Let's look for something useful." Sakura said softly, and Hinata and I agreed. We left the poor thing on the ground in the room, closing the door behind us slowly, and turned to look around the abandoned restaurant. I went to look around all the tables and chairs for any papers or keys or misplaced items, and Hinata did the same, but all we could find was garbage.

Sakura, however, was frozen all of a sudden in her check behind the counter. Hinata and I turned to her. "Saki-chan?" I asked, tilting my head to the side. "What's wrong?"

"A…A…" She just stared at the ground behind the counter, eyes wide, paralyzed.

I narrowed my eyes, tightening my grip on my gun. "_What_?" Hinata insisted, staring at her.

"Ayame!" Sakura cried.

"What?!" I ran around to her and stared.

Ayame lay on the ground. Her shirt was ripped, and her stomach slashed…

**x**x**x**x**x**

I was livid. I wanted someone dead for this, I wanted someone to pay.

But for now, I was driving so fast that I could barely think at all. Sakura had Ayame's head on her lap in the backseat, checking the blood and removing anything foreign she could find, her hands just two flesh-colored blurs as they worked around the wound. Hinata sat next to me, obeying Sakura's every order and helping her out as much as she could.

This time they'd gotten Ayame. This time it was our friend.

This time, it was personal. And this time, someone was going to die for it.

I didn't say anything. I wanted to cry, I wanted to scream, but I kept on driving through the sleet and hail and grey slush that splashed around us, ignoring the protestant other drivers that beeped loudly at me, the ones I usually would take the time to flick off.

We got back home in record time, and I accidentally parked on the lawn in front of our house, something I didn't care about as I jumped out of the car and ran to the front door, opening it for Sakura, who, the strongest of the three of us, was carrying the unconscious Ayame on her back up to the porch, Hinata carrying her medical appliances one step behind her.

We were desperate. We were terrified. But it was obvious.

She'd been infected by the poison, it had gotten into her blood-stream.

Ayame was going to die.

**x**x**x**x**x**

"Anything else?" Hinata asked Ayame sweetly as she set a steaming mug of hot chocolate in the girls' hands.

Ayame smiled and shook her head. "No, thank you." She sipped the liquid and sighed in relief. "I needed this."

I was sitting on the bar at the counter, which Sakura was leaning against, separating our kitchen from our living room, both of us watching the two. Ayame had woken not too long ago, dressed in some of my clothes, and simply asked for some hot chocolate.

Sakura hadn't told her, yet, that the poison had infected her. In fact, she'd lied through her teeth and said it wasn't in her, that Sakura had found her quickly enough to get it out. Sakura hadn't told me why she'd said that. I desperately wanted to know.

Apparently Ayame had gotten sick of feeling useless, only telling us about girls being dragged into hideouts, and so she'd broken into the station to try and do something of her own. Unfortunately…she wasn't ready for the guards there…

Ayame's stomach had been slashed as she had been knocked out, the poison slid inside the wound. And yet she sat there on the sofa, completely silent, not saying a thing, just sipping her hot chocolate.

How could she do this? How could she just sit there, calmly? She had been _killed_! She was going to _die_!

I took a deep, shuddering breath, breaking the silence. "Sakura, can I talk to you in the bedroom?"

Sakura glanced at me. I saw the sadness that I felt reflecting in her eyes. "Sure."

Hinata turned on the television to distract Ayame. We both walked back into the bedroom, and I closed the door behind me and heaved a sigh, leaning against the wood of it. "Sakura…" I whispered. "Why did you lie to her?"

Sakura sat down on the bed and stared at her knees. "TenTen…Let's take her out for a walk." she said suddenly. I looked up at her, confused, and she continued. "Let's take her to the mountains. Show her the lake, the trees, the fish. Let's make her a picnic. Let's laugh with her, tell her stories."

I stared at her. "Because she's going to…?"

"I want to make this day…" Sakura looked up at me, and I saw that familiar determination in her eyes. "I want to make this day the best day of her life."

I blinked, then looked towards the door, in the direction of Ayame. My lips curved in a sad smile.

"Ditto."

**H**i**n**a**t**a

"You lose again, Saki!"

"Damn it, TenTen! Gaki! Gaki!"

"I'm not a brat just because I keep beating you at tag, you're just a loser!"

"You're cheating, I know it! Gaki!"

"Ouch! Ha-ha!"

Ayame giggled. "How can you 'beat' someone at _tag_?"

I shrugged, sighing and shaking my head. "I honestly have no idea." I said, a little amused. Ayame and I stood off to the side and watched Sakura and TenTen fight it out. We were in the canyon in the mountains. It was near the place in the trail where we'd cremated Fuyu. The small dip in the mountains, covered in green; trees, bushes, grass, small flowers and plants, and only in the middle was there a miniature pond, covered in a layer of green moss and lilies. The sun was up high in the sky now, a rainbow glinting from reflecting the water and melted snow.

The grass was soggy, but it was merely like a sprinkle of dew now, and that didn't stop Sakura and TenTen's competitive streaks to spark. The two were now challenging each other to a game of 'tag', which had now been turned into something the complete opposite of tag. Something much more violent, and yet so much more amusing. We had a 'picnic', which was actually some sandwiches and chips I'd come up with quickly and stuck in a plastic bag.

We'd done as Sakura had suggested and taken her here, to the mountains of Konoha. The car ride down was awkwardly silent at first, but then it got better along the way as the rain and snow and hail stopped and the sun emerged to dry everything down.

As Ayame and I watched Sakura and TenTen, Ayame laughing happily, I saw her smiling face from the corner of my eye. She was suspicious. I could tell. But she was too sweet to care. _She _was the one humoring _us_, contrary to what we were trying to do.

I wondered if this was a sign. Things were getting out of our control. '_We should stop, before it's too late_.' I thought to myself.

I felt my arms shiver once.

Wasn't it already too late?

**S**a**k**u**r**a

I glanced over at Ayame as discreetly as possible. She was talking with TenTen, the two of them laughing loudly, telling each other stories as the four of us sat near the pond, having finished our food. '_TenTen really knows how to cheer people up._' I thought, seeing her poke Ayame in the side playfully, making her twitch and laugh.

'_Ayame…_'

"Sakura." Hinata whispered suddenly.

I glanced over at her. She was looking at me meaningfully. "It's been a few hours." she said quietly. TenTen and Ayame couldn't hear us. My heart pounded. My stomach felt empty and cold. I gulped and nodded, feeling myself grow pale. "I know." I said, my voice shuddering.

TenTen seemed to feel the bad vibes and glanced over at us. She saw our dark stares, and she narrowed her eyes. "Ayame, hey, can you go get that wrapper that blew over there for me? I feel bad littering in such a pretty place." she said, turning away again.

Ayame gave her a friendly smile that only made me feel colder. "Course." She walked off, and TenTen came over to Hinata and I, all three of us getting to our feet.

TenTen shared a look with us.

"It's not time, is it?" she asked under her breath. "I'm not good at math, but I think she was infected five hours ago. The poison starts affecting the body after twenty four hours. There's more time."

"TenTen…" I said softly. "It's either now, or wait for her to bleed her heart out of her eyes." TenTen winced. "She doesn't deserve to go like that." I whispered. TenTen stared at the ground. "We brought a gun for a reason, Ten." I said, touching her arm slightly and nodding to the lump in the pocket of her jacket. Hinata nodded. "It's the only thing we can do for her." I insisted.

TenTen's eyes glistened as she nodded, and I felt like there was a hand squeezing my heart violently as I withdrew myself from her and TenTen motioned Ayame to come over.

I wished we could do more…

**T**e**n**T**e**n

"Ayame…Can ya do something for me real quick?" I asked as normally as possible.

Ayame and I sat at the foot of the pond in the grass. The sun really was warming things up now. In Konoha, spring came early. It was beautiful. Rays sparkling in the crystal water, the air smelling of damp leaves and grass that lay at the trunks of the trees bordering the hill we were in the nook of, leaning against the cracked soil. Colorful. Peaceful.

But not enough.

Not enough for Ayame.

Not enough for someone about to die.

I fingered my gun, still hidden from Ayame who looked out at the pond nonchalantly.

'_I have to do something else. I have to make something else for her to see…_'

"What's that?" Ayame asked softly.

Was she suspicious? She had to be. Did she know? She had to know.

Did she want this? She couldn't.

"TenTen?"

I started. "Just…" My voice came out hoarse, and I cleared my throat. "Just close your eyes and picture…Picture the perfect day."

Ayame closed her eyes. "The perfect day?"

"Yeah. Describe it to me." I glanced at the trees behind us on top of the hill. Sakura and Hinata gazed out at us. Tears streamed down Sakura's face, and Hinata's eyes shined as she nodded once at me, face contorted in grief.

We were crumbling, falling apart.

I turned back to Ayame. "What's your perfect day like?"

Ayame, eyes still closed, suddenly leaned back a little more, settling comfortably into the hill and relaxing. "I've just had it…"

"Wh…What?" I asked.

She sighed. "You know, I've never had a mother." she said conversationally. I stared at her. "She died before I was born and everything. You know the story. But…" She clasped her hands together. "I finally know what I was missing out on. Someone like you. Or Hinata, or Sakura. You're fun, TenTen. Always making me laugh, or smile, showing me how to take advantage of life, that everything isn't always business and lifeless. Sakura teaches me. Tells me how to be a better person, and gives me so much hope. Shows me that I can actually _be_ someone, something, to be remembered. I can be a better person. And Hinata's always making me breakfast, lunch, dinner, cleaning the house, mending my clothes, brushing my hair, reminding me that someone actually cares. Finally, someone cares." She swallowed, eyes still closed, thinking. "I'm lucky, TenTen." she decided finally. "I have _three_ mother figures. But…But that's not all I've ever wanted. Because then…"

I saw a tear trickle down her cheek, and tears fell from my eyes as I lifted my gun slowly to her head. I couldn't tell if she noticed or not, but she didn't move.

"Then…?" I whispered, my hand shaking and my voice wavering with anguish.

"Then, at the end of the day, someone would say goodnight to me." she said softly. "And I'd have another day like that when I woke up." She paused, then she whispered, "I'd have a million more…"

I closed my eyes. My finger grasped the trigger. I calmed my racing heart. This was the hardest thing I'd ever had to do. It hurt.

And yet, as I opened my eyes, I felt like it was right.

"Goodnight." I said quietly.

I thought I saw a smile on her tear-stained face before I pulled the trigger, and the gun-shot echoed through the mountains.

She'd asked for a million.

'_I'm not good at math. But I think that means there's 999,999 more days to go._'

And that number would never get any smaller.

**X**X**X**X**X**

No comment. :( Don't worry, the action _will_ pick up. It'll be the chapter you guys have all been waiting for!!! You know what that means. Oh, and by the way, I finally have the rest of the story laid loud: there will be 40 chapters. Yes, it'll be that long, and I have a long way to go, but I hope you'll all stay with me all the way through, because I have a lot of fun planned out. Please look forward to the next chapter, because I promise it's going to be EPIC. :D  
ANNOUNCEMENT: PLEASE CHECK OUT THE COLABORATION PROJECT SHARED BY **FallenAngel92** AND I CALLED **xFallenChanx**! YOU MAY REQUEST ONESHOTS, PAIRINGS, REQUESTS, PROMPTS, IDEAS, OR ANYTHING AT ALL THERE!  
Re-Read & Edited while listening to: _Whispering_ from the musical _Spring Awakening_. :D  
thanks for reading!  
xmarachanx


	26. Enough

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**X**X**X**X**X**

**H**e**a**r **N**o **E**v**i**l_  
See no evil. Speak no evil._

**D**i**s**c**l**a**i**m**e**r: Oh emm eff gee, I don't own Naruto. :)  
**S**o**n**g: _Old School_ by _Hedley_

C**h**. **T**w**e**n**t**y **N**i**n**e – Enough

_Don't believe everything happiness says  
Nothing feels better than hiding these days  
We bury our fears in the drinks, in these tears  
For the days we believed we could fly_

**T**e**n**T**e**n

It wasn't like me to contemplate revenge.

Usually, I marched right on in there and fought to my heart's content. I wasn't one to think before I acted, and although that could be prone to getting me in trouble, and Sakura constantly warned me against it, I could usually get away with that skill; it normally worked out well. It was _my_ attack, _my_ technique.

But today, it wasn't being used. I sat back at home, alone in the bedroom. Just thinking to myself. Sakura and Hinata were in the living room, eating and watching the television. They were trying to get their minds off of what I'd done to Ayame yesterday. I couldn't do that. I _wouldn't_. I knew it had been the right thing; that I'd killed her before she could be hurt by the poison. It was a better way to go. We'd even cremated her before the pond, honoring her, bringing her flowers. But still; it was painful, knowing I'd done that.

And someone was going to die for it.

"TenTen-chan?"

I glanced up at Hinata entering the room timidly. I moved over on my bed to make room for her as she walked over, and she sat down next to me, staring at her hands that she folded in her lap.

"Where's Sakura?" I asked finally.

"She _was_ taking a shower, she's getting dressed now." Hinata said softly. "Your turn to take a shower's next."

I drew my legs up to me. I wasn't quite there with Hinata as I nodded. I was thinking, still, distractedly.

"You know that it wasn't our fault, TenTen," Hinata said consolingly. "You couldn't have done anything to stop it. You don't have to beat yourself up over it." I said nothing, and she continued. "Remember what Sakura said? There's nothing more we can do. It's alright now, TenTen-chan."

I nodded again, but I wasn't absorbing it.

"Ten-chan," I looked over to see Sakura toweling off her hair, entering the room. "Bathroom's open."

"Right," I said, standing.

"We'll be sleeping when you come back, probably, so please be quiet," Hinata said gently as I gathered my things.

They didn't notice, but I was getting together more than just supplies for a shower. I was getting new clothes to change into, weapons, pulling them into my arms as discreetly as possible as Sakura and Hinata climbed into bed and turned off the lamp.

I left the room and closed the door for them to sleep, then entered the living room and dumped my supplies on the ground.

My heart was beating hard, adrenaline raised goose bumps on my skin, and my stomach felt cold and empty as I thought about what I was doing.

But Sakura and Hinata were wrong. There _was_ something I could do.

I turned to the mirror against the wall in the cheap fake-golden setting nailed to the plaster. I stared at myself. I was pale. Skinny. Tired and angry. I still looked normal, the usual. My hair was the same, my eyes sparkled happily like they always did. But you could still see my determination…

I pulled the buns out of my hair and pulled on the black zip-up jacket, letting the hood fall over my head. I zipped it up to my neck and pulled my jeans on, ripping the skirt off and pulling the jeans on over my knee-high black combat boots.

And then, with that, I began to hide my weapons. In my hood, my collar, my sleeves, my pants, my boots, my belt. Guns, knives, mini-bombs, hand grenades.

I remembered Temari's words, my idol's words, from a while ago; _"Wow, you really __**are**__ the Weapons Mistress, aren't you?"_

I remembered Ayame's words from yesterday; _"I'd have a million more."_

Finally, I pulled out my new stolen cell phone and placed it on the coffee table, then grabbed the notebook and pink pen Sakura had left from her Chemistry studies and closed my eyes, calming myself as I noticed my shaking hand. I opened my eyes again.

'_Don't follow me…_' I scribbled down on a sheet of paper. I left both items there, glanced once, sadly, back at the bedroom where Sakura and Hinata lay sleeping, and left.

I remembered Neji's words from so long ago; _"We can do it. __**You**__ can do it."_

**x**x**x**x**x**

"Uchiha!"

"Um…Good morning, Nara?"

The next morning, the gang was sitting in the living room of the house, and Shikamaru stormed in and pushed Naruto violently off of the sofa, plugged his laptop into the television, and started typing away furiously in about five seconds.

"Um…Nara?" Sasuke asked again uncertainly.

Usually Shikamaru would be gazing in a longing daze at Temari, who would be ignoring him completely – unless Tayuya was there, a situation in which she'd be grinning away and giving Tayuya proud looks – but today he was too stressed as the three familiar windows opened on the screen. Two were the same, showing Sakura and Hinata asleep in their bedroom. The other one showed the empty living room.

Neji was almost predictably the first to ask the question on everyone's mind.

"Where's TenTen?"

Shikamaru was looking on the edge of worry. "She's gone, man!" he groaned. "She's dead, she's fucking _toast_!"

"Nara, _explain_," Sasuke demanded loudly as Neji raised an eyebrow.

He looked up. "TenTen left with a gun last night, I rewound the tape."

"What?!" Neji said forward, narrowing his eyes. "Why?!"

"Apparently they lost a friend," Shikamaru said grimly. "This is the last straw for TenTen, I guess. She's probably going off to Orochimaru for revenge."

Neji suddenly grabbed his gun from under the coffee table and started loudly, "I'm going-!"

"Hyuuga, you're not going after her," Sasuke interrupted him. Neji glared at him, and he sighed. "Hyuuga, I know you want to stop her, I know it's hard. But we have to wait. She's probably taken captive by now. Sakura and Hinata will notice she's gone soon enough, and we'll have more information. You can't just go into something you don't know about. So calm down and wait for it."

Neji grit his teeth. Sasuke was the leader of the gang for a reason. But he didn't want what happened to Sakura to happen to TenTen, and there was no way he was going to let anything close to that happen to her.

"TenTen?!"

"Uh oh. Sakura's getting there," Temari said.

Neji turned back to the screen.

Sakura had woken up and was now walking through the bedroom to the living room. Hinata woke as well, hearing her, and followed immediately, sensing something was wrong.

Sakura yawned a bit and glanced around. "Ten? Where are you?"

"Sakura-chan…" Hinata said quietly. Sakura glanced at her and noticed the way she stared at the coffee table. She walked over to the coffee table. "This is her cell phone," she said, staring at it. Everyone could see the two were slowly getting more and more worried. They watched Sakura pick up the note and read it aloud.

"Don't…follow me…"

"No!" Hinata gasped.

Sakura was silent for a while, just staring at the note in her hands as Hinata held her hands to her mouth, watching her anxiously. Then, she let out a frustrated scream and threw the note away from her. "What the hell kind of idiot is she?!" Sakura shouted. "Just saying that means we'll follow her! God damn it!"

"We have to go, Sakura, we have to hurry...Oh god…"

"TenTen, damn it!"

"Yeah, they're freaking," Temari said grimly.

"Let's just shut up and keep watching…" Sasuke muttered.

**S**a**k**u**r**a

I couldn't stand driving. It was terrifying. But I'd travel to the darkest corner of Hell in the most rickety car ever made to make sure TenTen and Hinata were safe. To make sure there was always a home to come back to.

"She was definitely on her way to Orochimaru's third station," Hinata said distractedly from the passenger seat as I drove along the sunny streets of Konoha slowly.

I nodded. "Nowhere else she would have gone. Fortunately, this city's small, so it only takes half an hour to travel across it…"

We were still bewildered. "I should have seen this coming," Hinata said softly.

"It's not your fault. It's not mine. It's not even hers," I said. "We just need to calm down, figure out what to do, and sort things out."

She nodded, letting out a long, shuddering breath. I turned back to looking out the windshield, keeping my hands from shaking by gripping my fingers tightly on the steering wheel. This was getting out of hand. I was starting to doubt, for the first time, the ability of the three of us. Could we keep doing this? Or was this finally the end, were we finally just going to be ripped apart…?

Hinata suddenly gasped. I turned, concerned. "Sakura-chan, stop the car!"

I looked at where she pointed out the window and my eyes narrowed.

We saw the one thing that signaled a fight; blood was flecked on the wall of an alley we passed. As I slowed the car and parked on the side of the road, I saw something else.

A cherry blossom petal. It danced along through the air in the middle of the alley, just a single petal that floated gracefully to the ground, illuminated by the sun that was still rising on the edge of the horizon. Hinata and I were both frozen for a moment, just staring at the scene. My heart pounded against my chest and I gulped before exiting the car at the same time as Hinata, both of us slamming the car doors shut and walking slowly to the alley.

The pink of the petal clashed with the red of the blood in my eyes, which burned. I wondered who's it was. TenTen's…?

The two of us said nothing as we walked. The sun was blinding, low in the sky and gleaming in our faces. There were still a few dirty piles of snow in patches here and there that our feet crunched on.

The alley curved to show a little bit of a maze between the white walls of a few buildings placed closely together. It was even brighter here, and we shaded our eyes from the sun, shadowing our faces.

We stopped to look around, seeing a few knives scattered around. There was no doubt that there had been a fight.

"TenTen was at the advantage for a while…" Hinata said suddenly. I glanced at her. She was observing everything, and noting what must have happened. "But…she was soon overpowered," she continued. She frowned. "I think she was knocked out around there…" She pointed to a spot of blood on the ground at the edge of a wall.

"Where could she have been taken though?" I asked.

"I…don't know…"

The two of us suddenly turned around slowly. My heart beat even harder, and as we finally turned around all the way, my mouth opened.

"TenTen…"

All Hinata could gasp was, "Amazing!"

It _was_ amazing…

**AWR 4636**

**T**e**n**T**e**n

Inside the dark of some small room, sitting on some sort of wooden chest and locked in, holding onto my bleeding head, feeling sore, scratched, bruised, and tired, and not knowing what was going to happen to me…I grinned.

**x**x**x**x**x**

'A' was spelled out sloppily in a patch of snow with a finger, a 'W' next to it, and 'R' was made out of small matchsticks. A ways off '4' and '6'were made – Sakura was eyeing this while clutching her throat – with _blood_, and next to that '3' was created with three knives, and '6' made by a bloody finger in another patch of snow.

**AWR 4636**

Those characters were all spelled out along the ground in front of Sakura and Hinata. And there was no doubt about it.

TenTen had lived.

TenTen had created a message for Sakura and Hinata.

She wanted them to follow all along.

"That's…that's incredible!" Temari cried.

"Brilliant…" Shikamaru noted.

Neji couldn't look away. Naruto, predictably, was the only one confused, and he looked back and forth between Sasuke and the television before poking Sasuke in the arm. "I don't get it."

"You wouldn't." Sasuke muttered. He sighed and pointed. "That's a license plate's characters. Dobe."

"I figured, but what's going on? I still don't get it."

"Well…" Shikamaru took over the explanation. "It looks like TenTen was intending to be taken hostage in the first place. Apparently she wants to take them down from the inside. But of course she can't do it alone. So she made a trail to the fight scene. And while TenTen was fighting, she had the mind to take a look at the license plate of the car Orochimaru's team was in and spell it out in any way possible."

"Why didn't Orochimaru's men clean it up?"

"TenTen probably thought about that as well, don't underestimate her," Neji snapped defensively. "It was the middle of the night. They obviously didn't see because it was dark, idiot."

Naruto rolled his eyes at all the name-calling. Temari frowned. "Shikamaru."

Shikamaru stopped trying to bug Naruto and straightened up, shocked. She sure had been acknowledging him a lot lately. He stared at her, then cleared his throat when he noticed he was being awkwardly silent. "Wh-What?" he asked weakly, gazing at her.

She didn't look at him, however, and simply ordered, "Search the license plate code on the laptop."

Shikamaru watched her, and Sasuke nodded. "Good idea," he said, nodding at Shikamaru. "We'll be able to find something that might connect to that car and we might have an idea of where TenTen is."

Shikamaru obeyed silently after tearing his gaze away from Temari. He typed for a bit, then sighed. "Damn, I need to crack a few codes…" He typed for a bit. Temari watched him from the corner of her eye.

Sometimes…she regretted it.

Seeing him back in action, smart as ever, calm as ever, cool as ever…

"Got it."

She blinked and looked away, pouting to herself, as Shikamaru clicked on something on the laptop. He frowned. "Heh. Look at that…TenTen's smart, that's for sure." He smirked. "Maybe not as smart as me, but…you know, I can give her props."

Temari tried not to groan out loud. '_Jack ass…_'

"What?" Naruto asked distractedly as he watched Hinata on the television eagerly and Neji gazed at the television as if it was going to solve every one of his problems.

"Well, the car she's indicating currently belongs to none other than Kabuto…Sorry, Kabuto-_sensei_." Shikamaru looked disgusted to even say something like that. "Troublesome…"

"Huh. And that would mean…" Sasuke moaned "Damn, she's at Kabuto's place." He snapped his fingers. "Kabuto_-sensei's_." Shikamaru snorted.

"Well Sakura and Hinata don't know that!" Naruto called, pointing over to the television he and Neji were still staring at.

Neji nodded. "Right. I'll-"

"I'll get her."

Everyone stopped talking and stared at Temari as she got to her feet. Neji glared at her.

"What are you thinking?"

"Temari, you can't go…" Shikamaru said slowly.

She ignored the two and turned to Sasuke. "I'll take the motorcycle, Uchiha."

"Temari…" Sasuke said uncertainly.

"Listen," she said, narrowing her eyes, and suddenly all attention was on her in the room. It was one of her talents. She could be intimidating. She could gather everyone's eyes in a second. "I'm fast," she said, hands on her hips. "I'm the fastest person in Konoha at the moment. And it's not like I can't fight. Also, you can keep an eye on me now by satellite on the laptop, I'll keep my cell phone on me." Shikamaru looked down, nodding to himself. "Besides, I'm TenTen's idol, remember?" Neji closed his mouth. "If anyone, she'll listen to me. There might even be a chance to get them back." Temari looked towards the television, watching Sakura and Hinata in the car, driving furiously back home, Hinata taking notes and Sakura babbling what TenTen could mean. "They understand, now," Temari said. "They've gone far enough by themselves. This time, they need help. Even TenTen. She didn't make that message for nothing." She turned to Sasuke.

"Please let me go."

He stared at her for a while. "The last time…I let someone in my gang go, she ended up…" He closed his eyes, remembering Sakura's bloodied body. "Temari, if I let you go, promise me one thing."

"That is?"

Sasuke opened his eyes. "You'll come back."

Temari stared at him, and she grinned.

"That depends." She grabbed Neji's gun from his hands and walked from the room with a short, "Arigatou!"

**S**a**k**u**r**a

"Hinata! Do you have anything yet?" I called from the kitchen.

I sat looking through newspapers, pictures, notes we'd taken in raids, things that we'd taken from Orochimaru's first and second stations. Anything, anything that could give us a clue to what TenTen had said. It was truly amazing. TenTen spelling out a code for us in the middle of a fight. I'd never seen something so smart come from someone so, well, stupid.

"Hinata?! Anything yet?!" I called again, sticking my head out to call through the bedroom door. She was supposed to be going through TenTen's things. She didn't answer.

I sighed and turned back to my pile of papers and pictures, flipping through them some more. Hinata still blamed herself for this. It was as if she was supposed to be the one watching over us at all times and preventing things like this from happening. Of course, I was the one that was supposed to let everyone's pain fall on me. And TenTen was the one that was supposed to protect us. I sighed. Hinata was always like this. Anything that happened, she took it out on herself. She'd act rashly, which was unlike her.

My eyes widened.

"No…Oh god, that's _so_ like her!"

I jumped to my feet. The papers fluttered to the ground, rustling and flying everywhere. I ran into the bedroom. "Hinata?!" I called.

I stopped in the doorway and froze at what I saw.

An empty room.

The window was open.

Some papers danced around the room in the breeze that entered through the open screen.

For the second time that day, I felt alone, and scared, and deserted.

My mouth opened slowly.

"…This…is…enough…"

**H**i**n**a**t**a

I'd never tried driving before.

It wasn't as bad as I thought.

'_I'm sorry, Sakura-chan. This is something I have to resolve this myself. I have to figure something out…_'

I put a hand under my collar and felt around for the necklace. The moonstones, pearls, and blue topaz, sitting in a glowing luminescent around the complicated design. The necklace Ino had made me.

"_Like them? I made them all especially for you!"_

TenTen, Sakura, me, Temari, Ino, Matsuri. All of us were connected by the gems on the necklaces Ino had made for each of us.

I grit my teeth and stuffed the necklace back in my collar, then fisted a hand around one of the guns in my black sweatshirt pocket.

'_Everyone…put your trust in me. Give your strength to me…_' I thought.

I smiled a bit as I looked out the windshield, driving along the streets of Konoha slowly and cautiously, and swerving a bit as I was still learning, on my way to Orochimaru's third station. The sun glinted through the windows and shined the way for me like a flashlight from heaven in the middle of a dark night in hell.

'_I won't let you down._'

**x**x**x**x**x**

"Matsuri."

The brunette looked up at her boyfriend, who sat next to her.

She sat in her room in her house in the dark. She had been looking through an old photo album. Some pictures of the three girls that Orochimaru had killed half a year ago were slid out of their hold and shuffled in her hands.

Gaara watched her from the side. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she lied softly, laying her head on his shoulder. He didn't move. She didn't expect him to. He wasn't one to show his emotion.

However, he leaned down and captured her lips in his. Her eyes widened, but she returned the kiss peacefully. It was rare they shared a moment like this.

Of course, it was rare Gaara walked in on her crying.

He parted and stared into her eyes meaningfully. "I love you," he murmured quietly.

She felt the tears spill more, and her quivering lips curved in a smile. Of course, he would try to make her happy again. It was what he lived for, he'd reminded her once.

"Thank you…"

"What are you thinking?"

"I love you too."

"What _were_ you thinking?"

Matsuri took his hand and slid, from beneath the pillow of her bed and holding on her lap with her other hand, a very large machine gun. She looked into his eyes, grimly excited.

"Revenge."

**x**x**x**x**x**

Ino stared out the window of Sai's hideout.

She was in her room. As usual. That's where she was every day. Just sitting there listening to music and remembering better times, feeling her ass get sorer and sorer by the hour until she was called for a meeting or a raid or school or breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

She was holding onto the charm of her necklace, the sleek silver butterfly. The window was open, and the cool air blew her hair to the side, bangs fluttering out of the way of her ice-blue eyes, the long black trench coat flying behind her over the tight, navy-blue strapless dress that revealed so much. She was barefoot, and comfortable, and she just stood there, one hand to the charm, the other resting on the window's ledge. Her eyes were narrowed, and her mouth was open, expression intense.

She was looking at something. No, some_one_.

Temari Subaku.

She was on the familiar motorcycle, hair flying behind her, roaring down the street, getting the same old confused stares from people wondering why the hell a teenage girl was riding one of those things. She was carrying a gun, obviously, as it flashed from the inside of her pocket.

As Ino watched, she stopped at a streetlight that was red, and she could see the girl's mouth form a curse as she impatiently revved her engine.

Ino turned around in a second and walked over to her corner with her little necessities. She pulled on a pair of knee-high black boots and rolled up the sleeves of the black trench coat, feeling inside the right pocket, her gun.

With that, she pulled out her cell phone and pressed speed dial as she walked out of the room.

_"Ino?"_

"Sai," she said simply in an emotionless voice. "I'm going on a raid, if that's alright with you."

_"Ah. Would you like backup?"_

"No," she said evenly. She strode through the wooden halls swiftly and ignoring the people she passed.

_"What is the reason for you to feel in the mood for a raid so early in the day?"_

"Just a feeling."

**x**x**x**x**x**

"Put Hinata-chan back on, Sasuke-teme! Do it now!" Naruto ordered angrily for the fifth time.

"Naruto, for god's sake, we have to keep an eye on Temari." Shikamaru said as Sasuke massaged his head. "I'm sure Sakura and Hinata are fine, but Temari's in the real danger."

"All she's doing right now is driving on a motorcycle, she's not even at Kabuto's place yet!" Naruto snapped. "Come on! I have a bad feeling!"

"You always have a bad feeling. Dobe," Sasuke growled, pushing Naruto to the ground. "Just shut up and pay attention."

"Neji! Say something!" Naruto cried, staring at the pale-eyed boy who sat on the couch.

He shook his head, however. "Naruto, do you want Temari to die?"

He gulped and looked back to the television. "N-No…but…"

"You're way too obsessed with Hinata-sama." Neji muttered dully. "Just sit tight. She's perfectly fine, and so is Sakura. We'll see her soon, though…"

Naruto sighed. "Fine…"

He didn't feel convinced in the least, though, as he watched Temari zoom through the streets, getting nearer and nearer to the third station. In fact, he felt scared, for Hinata.

'_something's happening…_' Naruto thought, glaring at the screen almost accusingly. '_Just like last time. But this time, I can see it coming. I'm gonna stop it…_'

**S**a**k**u**r**a

"This is enough," I whispered.

I was staring at myself in the mirror of the bathroom.

"This is enough," I repeated.

I was holding onto a pair of scissors in one hand, and my hair, down to my shoulders, in my other hand. I slowly lifted the scissors to my hair, opening them.

This was enough.

I cut through the strands quickly, feeling my hair go limp and short. My cell phone sat on the counter. My gun was in my pocket. I'd already called Hinata's number a few times. It was turned off.

I dropped the cut hair, letting it fall, pink and pure, to the tiled floor, and then I turned swiftly and walked out of the bathroom, through the living room, and out into the front yard, where I glanced around.

I grit my teeth. I was still trying so hard to be calm, but it was hard.

Hinata had taken the car.

Where had she gone? To Orochimaru's station? Which station? First, second? Third? Where was TenTen? What did **AWR 4636 **mean?

So many questions, and I doubted any would be answered by myself.

And so, it had been enough.

It was my turn.

I felt the tears spill over my eyes, and I turned once, and started to run.

I knew where I was going.

I was going to do the protecting this time.

"_This is enough_!" I screamed, sobbing as I ran flat out to Sasuke Uchiha.

And that didn't mean I had to do it by myself.

**X**X**X**X**X**

:D  
Re-Read & Edited while listening to: RENT. (;  
THANKS AGAIN FOR 1000 REVIEWS!  
thanks for reading!  
xmarachanx


	27. Decoding

Hello my dears. Long time no see? I beg to differ. ;)  
Thanks:  
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Enjoy!

**X**X**X**X**X**

**H**e**a**r **N**o **E**v**i**l  
_See no evil. Speak no evil._

**D**i**s**c**l**a**i**m**e**r: Oh emm eff gee, I don't own Naruto. :)  
**S**o**n**g: _Old School_ by _Hedley_

C**h**. **T**h**i**r**t**y – Decoding

_Call up your brothers and sisters and friends  
We'll go back to the place where the night never ends  
We'll remember the fires, the burning car tires  
Boy how in the hell did we get here?_

**T**e**n**T**e**n

'_Finally_…'

I knew it was about time, after a couple of hours of just sitting silently and thinking things through, before the door to the small pitch black room I was being imprisoned in was opened. There was light outside of it, and I winced and hid my eyes with my arm, fully accustomed to the darkness. I knew I wasn't at Orochimaru's third station like I'd expected, but, well, it was a start. No one had even tried to lay a finger on me yet, as well. Probably because they were going to use me for questioning, since I fought back for once. I wouldn't talk, though. I had something else in mind…

"You, girl."

I looked up, trying to get used to the light, and saw a very pretty, tall woman in a white shirt, a box cut chest with the sleeves ending at her elbows, and light jeans, with a violet scarf around her neck. She was barefoot, standing in the doorway. She had long black hair, pale skin, and pink lips. "Yeah?" I asked, feeling just a bit nervous but getting over it and trying to act as innocent and oblivious as possible.

"Come with me. We're going to ask you a few things," she said darkly. It was obvious she was all business.

I said nothing and stood warily. I wasn't sure if I should have followed her or not. She turned, and my suspicions rose as I saw many slim, silver needles sticking out of a back pocket of her jeans. Knowing all my weapons had been taken from me when I'd been knocked out (I'd figured that out in a couple of minutes of sitting there in the dark and cussed them out for a bit) made me feel even more vulnerable.

But the woman looked over her shoulder. "If you don't follow I _will_ use force," she said simply.

I walked after her slowly, calming myself. I didn't need to provoke anyone, that would only make things worse. I had to play right into their hands before making my move. I smiled a bit to myself as I walked over to her.

'_They didn't take __**all**__ my weapons…_'

When I exited the room, my boots landed on plushy beige carpet. I looked around, wiping my eyes that streamed from the light fixtures. I stared. "What…happened to the ceiling…?"

It was chilly in the room, and I pulled my jacket closer to me, wanting to pull the hood over my cold ears as I looked up, standing still in wonder. The ceiling was completely gone, letting the pipes and light fixtures of the roof - the wooden fixture of which slanted high above our heads - show, ugly and rusted.

"It helps insulation," the woman said simply. "There isn't any time to stop and stare. Come."

I nodded and followed after her slowly, still staring around. The room I was in before had probably been some sort of empty bedroom from the look of the door, light shining in on a small wooden bench against the edge of the wall. The room I crossed now was empty except for the carpet and the doors along the walls. There was also some sort of black technology that somewhat resembled a stereo system sitting in the corner. I tried to recognize what it was, but my head still ached from being hit. Everything was lit by the dim yellow light fixtures. I eyed the front door. The window on it and the windows along the wall next to it were all boarded up.

"Hurry."

I turned back to follow the woman. She opened another door out of the room and showed the way into a long hallway, dark and ominous. She paused next to the door and turned.

"We will wait here. Your escort is to come very soon to take you into another room for questioning."

I stopped walking and stood a safe distance away, watching her. "Why are you working for someone like Orochimaru? You're pretty and nice. You don't seem like the kind of girl to volunteer for a killer."

"I am not girl."

I blinked. "…What…?"

"I am a man. My name is Haku."

I stared at said Haku. "You're…not a girl?"

"No I am not," Haku said simply.

"Whoa, um…" I coughed, feeling a little less comfortable. This guy was prettier than any _girl_ I'd ever seen! "I'm…sorry…?"

"I am not offended." Haku turned back to the door when we heard footsteps echoing down the hall.

A tall, dark-skinned man emerged from the darkness, wearing a violet wife-beater and jeans, also barefoot. I saw a gun in his pocket and gulped.

"You're my escort?"

"Yes," he said simply, and I noticed the way Haku backed up respectfully, bowing his head. The new man, Zabuza apparently, turned to Haku. "You are relieved."

"Thank you," Haku smiled suddenly at Zabuza, who scratched the back of his neck. I watched as Haku turned and crossed the room to retreat through another door. Something was going on between these two…

"Come," Zabuza said suddenly, gesturing to the hall. I bit my lip and didn't move as he waited, arm still out politely. He tilted his head to the side, giving me a curious glare. His dark eyes roamed up and down, then strayed to my face again, as if wondering what was wrong with me. "Move."

It was now or never.

"No."

Zabuza did not move for a couple seconds as he seemed to be registering what I'd just said, then he slumped his shoulders just a bit, loosing the politeness. "I warn you against resisting," he said dangerously.

"Well I am," I said.

"You're a fool, then." Zabuza snapped the door shut, suddenly. He turned to face me completely.

I gulped and readied myself.

"I don't regret it."

**x**x**x**x**x**

Temari narrowed her eyes as she walked towards the large house she was targeting. Kabuto's house. She had crossed behind the house, through many other house's backyards, and parked the motorcycle a ways away so no one could steal it, and no one would recognize her or hear her coming. She saw the large black van parked in the driveway around the side of the house that she peeked around now, and so, glancing at the boarded windows of the first and second story to make sure no one was looking, she darted around the house to the car and read the license plate.

**AWR 4636**

She grinned. "You guys," she said, knowing they could hear her by satellite. "Wish me luck."

She imagined hearing Naruto shouting, "Good luck, Tema-chan!" at the television set and laughed a bit under her breath before pulling out her gun and running back around the house and climbing onto the back porch. She reached out and touched the doorknob tentatively before turning it slowly and carefully.

She gasped when she realized it was open, and covered her mouth with her hand. There was no way she would just walk in there without being careful, she wasn't an idiot. She exhaled slowly, calming herself, and then whipped around the door, holding her gun out sharply as she kicked the door shut as silently as she could with her foot. She entered a sort of kitchen. The lights were off, the only light coming from the dim blue sky that shined through a window up in the top corner of the room. She looked around. A refrigerator, a stove, counters and cabinets. The usual. The room was small, and tiled. It was somehow unlike Kabuto to have a room such as this in his house, but Temari shrugged it off and approached the door out of the room.

She pressed her ear to it, holding her gun up cautiously, and that's when she heard something. She narrowed her eyes and listened closer.

_"Hah!"_

_"Agh!"_

The sounds of fighting.

One sounded like a gruff young man. The other…

A teenage girl with a high, melodic voice…

"TenTen," she whispered to herself. She took a deep breath to prepare herself, and she cracked the door open, peering out.

There she was. The brunette looked different, somehow, off the camera of the satellite. She looked older, as if she'd experienced as much as a dying old man. Her hair was down, flying around her determined face as she flipped over the man's shoulders and slammed her knees into his back.

He roared out in pain, and turned around, gritting his teeth and throwing a fist into her shoulder. She winced, but her anger overcame her pain and she tried again.

Temari stared at the fight, entranced. So she was this girl's idol. Well, she wasn't an _amazing_ fighter, but she had to give her props for pure devotion. She doubted TenTen's spirit ever faded.

Temari suddenly heard something and froze. She didn't stiffen, though. She wouldn't give herself away. But she heard something from the ceiling. A crack. An unnatural crack that did not sound like something the house would create by itself. Temari exhaled slowly.

'_Haku…of course…_'

Haku and Zabuza. The pair that Orochimaru had dragged into his gang when he was just starting out. They were legendary for their silent method of killing. Their specialty was sneaking up on their opponents and taking them out without them even knowing what hit them. That was probably why Zabuza was doing so poorly against TenTen, not used to hand-to-hand, loud fighting styles.

Temari calmed herself, trying to get her bearings and think of a way to respond. She understood that Haku knew how to get to places where normally people wouldn't think of someone to be. Haku was a master of disguise, of silent secrecy. And now, with the feeling Temari usually got when a spider was crawling on her arm, Temari knew Haku was crouching above her among the cabinets near the ceiling.

Temari closed her eyes, counted to ten, and then, she flung the door open and stumbled through into the living room.

Just in time, because at that second a rain of needles fell from the ceiling into the place where Temari had just been standing. Haku also had a very fine collection of silver needles. They weren't harmful by themselves, but Haku dipped them in poison that could kill someone in a manner of seconds if injected into the blood stream.

Temari halted and twisted around to look for Haku, and Haku dropped to the ground a second later behind the needles lying on the tiled ground of the kitchen. Haku walked over them and slowly entered the living room, toes curling along the carpet. He looked over Temari's shoulder at TenTen and Zabuza, who Temari glanced at as well.

Zabuza, Temari gathered grimly, unfortunately had the advantage at the moment, and TenTen, who, along with Zabuza, hadn't noticed the two newcomers as they were too engrossed in their furious fight, cried out in pain and stopped fighting after Zabuza, who seemed to have had enough, slammed his gun into TenTen's head.

TenTen gasped and stumbled backwards. Temari could see the dizzy, disorientated look in the girl's eyes. Her mouth opened and she groaned, holding a hand to her head, other arm dropping limply by her side.

"Y-You're…you're d…dead…" TenTen said weakly to Zabuza as she stumbled backwards, twisting around so her back faced Temari and she could see Zabuza, getting closer and closer to Temari before she finally crumpled to the ground at Temari's feet with a painful sounding thump.

Temari winced and whispered, "_Ouch_…!" under her breath, then rolled her eyes as TenTen struggled to her elbows. '_This is __**not **__going as planned…_'

**T**e**n**T**e**n

I propped myself on my arms, blinking furiously as I tried to see straight. I'd never fallen like that before. I could feel my pulse in my temples, and my head was throbbing. Once, twice, three times…It felt like someone was squeezing my brain over, and over, and _over_ again…

'_There goes another brain cell…_' I thought darkly as I let out a quiet moan and a hiss of pain and blew my hair out of my face so I could see clearly.

Suddenly, I saw something in front of my face. A high-heeled stiletto boot. I looked up a bit more. Jeans tucked into them. My eyes traveled upwards. A blood-red tank over a long-sleeved white shirt. Sandy-blonde hair tumbling over slim shoulders. A heart-shaped face with a set of teal eyes, narrowed in concerned exasperation. Pink-glossed lips pursed in an incredulous frown.

"Temari…" I whispered, my heart beat accelerating.

My idol stood in front of me, one hand on her hip, raising an eyebrow.

"TenTen," she replied simply. I didn't move, I just lay there arching my neck to look up at her. She snorted and tossed her head to the side. "So this is how you act in front of your idol? You're pathetic. Getting hit on the head like that, what an idiot!"

I wanted to laugh. I wanted to grin and nod excitedly in agreement, because I _did_ agree! I was being an idiot, and that was the whole point. But I was just too stunned to do anything.

"Haku…who is this?"

I looked over my shoulder groggily at Zabuza directing a question to someone. I turned over again to look through Temari's knees to see Haku standing just outside the door he'd disappeared in earlier.

Haku shook his head. "I don't know. I think it's one of the younger gang members, like this one." He nodded towards me on the ground.

"TenTen."

I looked up to see Temari holding a hand down to me. She wore a meaningful grin that I couldn't quite place. Her fingers spread wide, palm open invitingly. "Get up. I'm gonna fight with you."

My heart nearly stopped.

"Wh-What?" I asked, eyes widening.

"Don't you think it would be an honor to fight with me?" she asked interestedly.

"But…" I bit my lip. "They're…" I didn't want to say we weren't strong enough to beat them. But _they_ were a little _too_ strong.

"We can take 'em, at least until we find a way out," Temari said reassuringly, shrugging.

I stared at her, then I grinned. "Temari, I have explosives," I said suddenly as I got to a sitting position.

She stared at me, then she barked a harsh laugh. "Perfect! Now get up, you helpless imbecile."

I laughed as well and grabbed her hand, letting her pull me to my feet. We held each other's hands for a bit, grinning, before I turned to face Zabuza and Temari turned to face Haku.

Back to back. The position of balance, trust, and companionship as we took on the seemingly impossible. That which wasn't exactly impossible at all, I reminded myself excitedly.

"Where?" Temari asked quietly over her shoulder, down to business, as Zabuza and Haku stared at us intensely.

"In my hand now," I murmured over my shoulder as well, knowing she was wondering about my explosives. "I got it out of the heel of my shoe when I flipped over Zabuza." I felt the tiny, twig-thin beaker in the crook of my fingers in my right fist.

Temari glanced down at my right hand, seeing me squeeze it a tad, and nodded, turning back to Haku. "Smart. So what are you planning on blowing up so you can distract them and get out of here?"

"The ceiling. But I'm not planning on getting out of here," I muttered. "I'm going to go into that hallway and search around. There's…someone I wanna see."

"You mean Kabuto? To kill him?" Temari asked darkly.

"How did you know I was here?" I retorted, changing the subject.

"You'll see later," Temari said.

"No I won't," I reminded her.

"You two." We both turned, wary, to Haku and Zabuza, who had spoken. "Again, I suggest not resisting. Both of you, step away from each other and over to me. I'm taking you for questioning."

"If you struggle, you'll die," Haku backed him up very simply.

"Ready?" Temari asked under her breath.

"To kick ass?" I clarified with a smirk. She nodded, laughing. I grinned and faced Zabuza.

"Definitely."

With that, Temari grabbed two of her guns, lifted them in the air, and pointed both at Zabuza and Haku before either could move, and I ran away from both of them. In a flash, I jumped atop the stereo system, grabbed onto one of the pipes, and swung myself up to land on my feet among the pipes. I took the small, thin beaker out, staring at it. Inside was some sort of strange liquid.

"Temari, I have exactly one minute before this thing goes off! Start timing now!" I called down to her.

"Got it!" she called back up as she kept the guns aimed steadily at the unmoving Zabuza and Haku, and I snapped the beaker in half before taking out the thin plastic piece of string threaded into the sleeve of my sweatshirt. I tied the beaker onto the pipe and let it sit there before looking around. I had two more of these things Sakura had created a while ago hidden in my heels, and I decided it wouldn't be a bad idea to attach more, even though they were powerful enough by themselves. I reached into my boot and pulled out the other two, and I hopped off of one of the pipes and onto the other, getting over my nauseous dizziness, which came from getting hit on the head so hard and from jumping around in a ceiling so high up.

Meanwhile, Temari grinned as Haku and Zabuza both extracted their weapons. Zabuza had a large gun, and Haku his needles. "Oh, you think you can get me?" she asked loudly.

Zabuza said nothing and simply raised his gun with a grim expression and shot at her, the bang echoing in the house. But she was a blur, dodging it very easily.

She laughed as Zabuza lowered the gun. "You obviously don't understand." She dodged a needle from Haku. "I'm the fastest person in Konoha. No one's going to be pulling any triggers today." Suddenly there was another bang, and Zabuza cried out, groaning and swearing as he clutched his shoulder. She smirked.

"Except me."

I grinned, watching her. Definitely idol material.

"TenTen, watch it!"

I gasped as a needle barely missed my shoulder. I turned and stared at Haku, standing there, and looking livid. I hadn't even seen him come up!

I gulped. It seemed injuring Zabuza had pissed the guy off.

"Don't you move!" Temari cried, and I looked down to see her dodging yet another attack from Zabuza. "How you doin up there, TenTen?"

"Um…!" I tried, but I had to jump to yet another pipe, finding my balance very off, as another blur of needles followed me. "Not good!" I yelled meekly, jumping away from Haku and almost falling, squeaking a bit and holding on to the pipes for dear life. "Damn it, this is unfair! I'm on a roof!" I whined.

"TenTen, stop complaining, stupid, you're in the middle of a fight!" Temari cried, but then Zabuza shot at her and she shrieked, "Gah! Stop it, would you?! I take it back, complain all you want, these guys _suck_!"

I jumped to another pipe, making a small, "Eep!" as I almost fell again, avoiding a bomb at the same time, and I suddenly noticed something. "T…Temari, time!"

Her eyes widened, she paused and thought for a second, before, "Shit!"

I groaned and covered my eyes, glancing around. I looked down at the ground. It was a long way down. But it was better than being blown to pieces. I sighed out my fears. "Here goes everything…" I let myself drop from the pipes, seeing Haku's confused expression before he seemed to realize what was going on as the bombs began to smoke and jumped down as well.

A second later, the pipes exploded. I landed with my back to Temari, who handed me one of her guns, which I held out. We let the dust fall on us, hearing the crashes and screams of metal smashing to the ground around us. Our sight was completely white, and we both coughed and turned our heads to the side to hide our eyes from the smoke.

It took a while, a couple minutes of calling out to each other to make sure we were alright, but when the dust cleared, we both waited carefully, analyzing the scene, which was wood and metal and light fixtures, flickering and sending waves and shocks of electricity through the ground, among the smoke and dust and shavings of destroyed ceiling.

The empty room said it all.

They'd retreated.

"Yes!" Temari and I both cheered excitedly as the ceiling kept falling in. I saw light from the sun reaching in through the cracks and the holes that got bigger and bigger by the second and smiled.

'_Neji was right. I can do this, I can actually __**do **__this! I stand a chance!_'

"We are _so_ kick ass!" Temari cried excitedly.

I turned and laughed. "Totally! The roof is on _fire_, man! Woo!"

'_**We **__stand a chance…!_'

**x**x**x**x**x**

TenTen and Temari were laughing a little too hard for a while before Temari's phone finally rang.

She stiffened and pulled it out, giggling to a stop as TenTen held a hand to her mouth to make herself shut up and watched. Temari smiled as she opened it with a snap. They were still their same old immature selves after all. And she'd thought they'd both at least grown up a bit after what they'd each been through.

'_Nah. I cant expect us to change…_'

"Yeah?"

_"Temari…"_

Temari paused when she heard Shikamaru's voice and narrowed her eyes. "What?" she demanded impatiently, losing all sense of accomplishment.

_"Listen, I lost reception after you guys exploded that ceiling in, I can't see you or hear you on the satellite anymore."_

Temari said nothing except, "Point?" darkly. She noticed TenTen staring at her curiously out of the corner of her eye but did not explain.

She heard Shikamaru sigh on the other end. _"I have direct orders from Uchiha."_

"Oh." Temari closed her eyes. "What are they, then?"

_"The usual. 'Get your ass back home now', you know…" _Temari glared at the phone. He was trying to be casual, or else comic relief. She used to laugh at something like that. It wasn't working now. She said nothing, and Shikamaru paused before saying quietly, _"Be careful, alright? You were good out there…"_

"Pfft. What would you care if I'm careful or not? Why would you even care if I'm a good fighter or not?!" she demanded. It was probably because TenTen was here, but she was opening up a bit more, and now, she was just letting everything out, yelling into the phone angrily. "You don't care, right?! It's always about that whore Tayuya. It's always been about her!" TenTen stared at Temari, mouth open. Temari grit her teeth. "You don't want me, Shikamaru," she said darkly. "No one wants me."

_"That's not true, you don't know __**why**__ I'm going out with her in the first place!" _Shikamaru yelled on the other side of the phone. _"It's not about __**her**__, it's always about __**you**__! Stop acting like you know-!"_

"No! You have _no _right to tell me what to do!" Temari snapped. "Don't you _dare_ say that I don't know! I _do_ know, Shikamaru! _You're_ the one that doesn't know! You don't know what it's like, being a girl, being a woman! All you do is make it _worse_!"

_"Just shut up, you don't know what I care about or what I want! Of course I want you, Temari! I want you back, more than anything!"_

"No you don't, you don't even _care_!" Temari cried. She walked a ways away from TenTen, feeling the need to let out the frustrated energy in someway, kicking through the dust. "Why are you doing this, Shikamaru?! Why won't you just hang up on me and stop acting?!"

_"__**Because I love you, you idiot**__!"_

Temari stopped. Even TenTen heard that, who was still standing by and watching. Temari could say nothing, her eyes were wide and she just stood there with the phone stupidly. She felt like maybe, just maybe, the ceiling had fallen on them, going besides their plans, and she thought maybe, just, maybe, she was dead. But her heart started working again, if not frantic and fluttery, and she just stood there, feeling her arms go weak.

Shikamaru obviously hadn't meant to say that, it had just slipped out. But he went on anyways. _"I…I __**do**__ love you, Temari. And I __**do **__want you. I still do…" _he said softly. _"I wish I __**could**__ take you back…" _Temari was silent. _"Temari…?"_

"…I'll be home soon."

Temari hung up the phone with an angry snap, staring at the ground. Her boots were coated with dust and wood shavings, and she sneezed, feeling the air start to thicken.

"Temari…"

Temari turned to look at TenTen, who was watching her carefully. "Um…" Temari laughed as casually as she could and rubbed the back of her neck, and meanwhile her heart was calming, and sinking slowly in her chest. She knew she had been kidded again. But she wished Shikamaru could have _meant_ that…

But she noticed TenTen's eyes weren't on her, suddenly. They were trained off to the side. Temari turned, very slowly. She felt like something was coming. She felt like someone was there. She _knew_…

Ino Yamanaka stood there among the dust, long black trench coat flying behind her, hair swaying in the wind, mouth open and staring at Temari and TenTen.

The three girls stood in a circle. Temari could remember times when they'd stood in this formation before, stared at each other before, but had been so happy, laughing and grinning and listening to music, singing along badly to the radio and talking about clothes and sex and violence…

When they were kids. When they were naïve. When they had no idea how something so beautiful could be ripped apart in a second. It was like a life, the life of someone with their future ahead of them, taken so quickly by a stab in the back…

Now, they stood, much older and each separated one way or another from the others, in a circle, facing each other, the wind from the explosion fluttering their hair to the side. None of them said a thing. They just observed the other two, and their eyes didn't even communicate either.

And yet, without ways to talk to each other, they knew what this was just a moment, like a separated couples' fleeting glance.

And with that, Ino and TenTen each turned and, just like before, walked away, leaving Temari alone in the dust.

Temari was paralyzed. First TenTen, then Shikamaru's call, then _this_…

She didn't make a move as Ino stumbled into a jog, then a flat out sprint, running out of the room into the kitchen where she'd come from, and TenTen ran slowly and carefully, still holding Temari's gun, into the hallway that Zabuza was going to escort her down in the first place.

And then, Temari ran after Ino.

'_Sorry, Neji, but I'm not bringing TenTen home today…_' she thought, feeling her eyes start to tear up. '_I have to…_'

"_Ino_?!" she cried, stumbling to a halt outside and looking around.

It was chilly. There was a wind that roared through the streets and slapped at her arms, her hair flying. The sky was dark for the time of day, a pearly winter white. The houses around her were in alarm, people staring out their windows, pointing, gasping. She heard the sound of a motorcycle zooming away in the street a block away in the distance, and she stood there, letting the loss sink in.

She'd missed her.

"_Damn it!_" She let out a frustrated scream and ran away down the sidewalk.

Ino had gone back to Sai. Temari could have stopped Ino, talked to her, but no, she just _had_ to stand there like an idiot before moving her stupid ass, and now it was too late!

Again and again, people kept leaving her, and it was no wonder, since she was so stupid!

She knew it was a matter of time until everyone left her completely.

Just turning around and walking away…

**H**i**n**a**t**a

Orochimaru's third station.

I couldn't expect to get out of there unhurt. Even Neji and Naruto, when they'd gone to get Sakura when she'd gone missing, had barely gotten out with their lives.

But I was older now. I was stronger now. And right now, I knew what I was doing.

I'd parked about a block away, knowing the old technique of recognition. Now, I was inside.

I couldn't believe I'd done it. Knocked out that guard at the door. But I had, and it was easier than I'd expected. I just had to convince myself to be strong like Sakura and quick like TenTen.

And that's what I did now.

I couldn't see anything. But fortunately, I also couldn't see any_one_.

I was almost there, my gun clutched tightly in my hand, as I ran through the halls.

It was a very large multiple-story building, like a sky-scraper, made of glass windows from top to bottom, even where you entered to emerge in the elevator, where a police-man sat. He was a flimsy man. Not really a threat, and didn't even notice me sneaking up on him.

Now, on the floor the elevator had dropped me off at, I was running so fast I felt like I didn't exist, my shoes echoing on the glass tiles. It was partly because I was just terrified and full of adrenaline, and partly because I knew the cameras would detect me sooner or later.

Fortunately, I could always head them off.

I flew around a corner and immediately spotted three guards heading that way. They hadn't noticed me yet, still rounding the corner distractedly at the far end of that hall and chatting among themselves carelessly, and I flattened myself against one of the doors, which pocketed into the wall, hiding me from view. I exhaled all my worries, and then I did a great risk.

I pulled myself out and stepped right into the middle of the hallway. Before any of them could do anything, I pointed my gun at them and shot all three, not caring where or how violently.

When they collapsed, blood splattering about the walls and floor, I felt like throwing up, my nerves were twisting my stomach so badly. This was my first…

But everything had to be done quickly, and I threw those feelings of pity aside and ran towards them. One of them was struggling, groaning, and another was gasping in breaths of air. The one that was twitching reached for his gun, and I simply shot him once more, before turning to the unconscious one and, ignoring the bloody mess as best as I could, reached down and rolled him onto his back.

I began the search, my hands flying frantically around his black jacket pockets. ID, a few papers, weapons…

I narrowed my eyes as I snatched up a ring of keys, then stood and examined one of them.

'_Oh thank goodness…_'

The keys were numbered for the doors.

I looked at one that was a chip, a digital chip to slide into a slot. Definitely the room I was looking for…

I glanced at the number painted on the back of it in small black characters. **400**. I looked around and gulped as I heard concerned voices calling and wondering about the gunshots.

I was standing, on the first story, near room number **65**.

**S**a**k**u**r**a

I rounded the corner, my chest heaving, and nearly fell over my feet as I couldn't help but stop and stare.

The street was a dead end, and it was dark and shady, leaf-less trees lining the sidewalks and deserted, empty houses that were slowly falling apart from lack of use sitting side by side on the dying grass of their lawns.

The same old street I'd been terrified of when we'd first driven here by accident…

At the dead end, there was one house facing me.

I could see the motorcycle parked in front of the black sports car in the driveway. There were no curtains on the one large window of the living room, but I couldn't see in from the distance. There was a very small cement porch leading up to a white wooden front door without a screen door in front of it. There was a random doodle scratched into the wood of that door. I remembered it; the stick figure peeing. The picture Naruto had drawn. The house was small, and made of grey brick. The foundation of the place seemed to be cracked and crumbling.

Home.

I walked down the middle of the street, step by step, just staring as if transfixed or hypnotized.

A car beeped loudly at me, but I just skirted it, ignoring it completely and letting it zoom past me, the exhaust clouding my vision for a brief second before clearing and letting me see the house, even closer. I stepped up the curb, walking closer and closer, and finally, I found myself walking up the sidewalk towards the porch. I climbed the steps, one by one, and found myself right in front of the door.

I just stared at it for a while, then grit my teeth and pounded a fist on the door, feeling it vibrate weakly beneath my palms. I waited anxiously. When no one came, I let the tears fall and slammed even harder, then started pounding on the door desperately.

'_Help…someone come, please…__**please**__!_'

I paused when I heard footsteps and stopped, holding my hands to my mouth, forcing the tears back.

The door finally opened, and I saw the one person I'd been wanting to see for so long, standing there in the doorway. He looked the same as when I'd first seen him, if not a tiny bit older and more weary. A pale, round, boyish face, dark eyes widened in surprise.

I could only stare at him for one second before relief passed over me like a wave.

I flung myself at Sasuke and sobbed into his shoulder. "S-Sasuke…"

He was stunned. He knew my pink hair, my green eyes. But it was as if he didn't know who I was.

I didn't care. I didn't care, there was nothing to care about.

_**Yeah here we go for the hundredth time  
Hand grenade pins in every line  
Throw 'em up and let something shine  
Going out of my fucking mind**_

"_I love this song!" TenTen, Temari, and Ino cried at the same time. I glanced at the corner of the room at the stereo system, then to the remote in Ino's hand; she had randomly flicked it on, and now Bleed It Out was blasting loudly through the speakers._

_Ino, TenTen, and Temari started rapping along to it, laughing with each other like childhood friends. I groaned and covered my ears. "You guys are awful!" I complained as Sasuke did the same with his own hands, covering his ears to block out their childish giggles._

All those days we'd spend together, laughing, arguing, carefree…

I closed my eyes, feeling him wrap his arms around me uncertainly, yet comfortingly.

_Naruto chewed for a bit, then a grin slowly formed on his mouth. "This is __good__! This is __really__ good!" he cried with his mouth open and the chewed up food revealed inside._

_Sasuke and Neji immediately took a slice and had a bite, then they both nodded. "It's awesome." Sasuke said simply._

"_Better than ramen..." Neji added thoughtfully._

"_Yummy!" Ino cried as she chewed hers. Shikamaru and Temari both chewed their own with small smiles on their faces._

_It would have been sweet if it wasn't for the fact that every single person that spoke, even Sasuke and Neji, had done it with their mouths full and open._

The dinners we'd had around the table, the conversations we'd shared…

"Sakura…What…?"

"_Hey, we'll drop you these cloths off tomorrow then? I don't feel like changing back into the uniform."_

_Ino laughed lightheartedly. "Hah! Puh-__**lease**__! You can __**keep**__those things, and remember to wear them regularly."_

The clothes, the parties, the sharing…

"Sakura…what happened?"

_You know what, once you get past the seemingly meaningless threats, this isn't so bad after all." I said thoughtfully. I sat on the edge of my bed next to TenTen and Hinata, my medical skills book open in my lap. I wanted to read as much as I could and get as far ahead in the subject as possible. My teacher, Shizune, was already starting to see my talent in the subject, but I wanted even more attention. I wanted to get in advanced placement classes, I knew I had it in me._

"_Mhm. It's kind of fun over there, right? And I think that guy __Naruto__ has something for our Hina here!" TenTen nudged Hinata gently in the arm with her elbow. Hinata blushed bright red as she toweled her soaking hair. She had just taken a shower, and I would have to take one next. We had all made a schedule, Hinata and I took a shower after school, TenTen took a shower in the morning, so she didn't have anything to distract her from her homework after school. My rules._

"_TenTen__…!" she complained._

_I laughed. "He __is__ looking at you all the time, now that I think about it, Hinata-chan!" I sang._

"_Sakura, not you too!" Hinata cried, looking appalled._

Those times, those days, we could feel it already. We knew it already. We just didn't understand. Now, we knew full well.

We never wanted to leave.

"Sasuke…help, please, please…" I sobbed.

We never wanted it to end.

"Sakura…?"

We never wanted them to stop loving us.

"_I'm sorry_!"

No matter what.

And we would do anything to stay.

Anything…

**X**X**X**X**X**

WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO FF-DOT-NET THE LAST TWO DAYS?! I know you all had the same issue. Me and Angel-chan were talking it over in email, it was hilarious. I was like, **Day three**…XD Thank god it's back, am I right? We all love it. Thank you, ff-dot-net support group! Don't let it happen again! :D  
Review please? :)  
Re-Read & Edited while listening to: _Welcome To The Black Parade_ by _My Chemical Romance_. I'm back in the swing of actually listening to _music_ while writing this. XD  
thanks for reading!  
xmarachanx


	28. Just a Memory

There's a flaming cat in my pants. No, I just felt like saying that. I need to think of better **hello**'s. (:  
First off, let's say thanks to the reviewers I love so much:  
Ukyou-Taisuke, waterdragonrai, turtlechick, XxkikiroxX, Sasu-Saku-cherryblossom, Black Blood Blossom, Hikoru Aniki, naruto watching freak, RisingTwinDragons93, jolteonforever, Tobi-obsessed, StrawberrySmoothie99, kimiko77, yeji301, MidniteCurse4Eternity, LyricGirl16, ShinobiXAngel, Maya-chan2007, Metal-Blondie, Youkai Koneko, crimsonstripe, 123PIKACHU, totalnarutofangirl85  
And now, third off, on to the chapter. It's long, yes. Expect the chapters to get really long in the future. That's good, cause it's nice and chock full of action. But bad in the sense that you're gonna have to wait a long time for me to update. Sorry. ):  
Enjoy!

**X**X**X**X**X**

**H**e**a**r **N**o **E**v**i**l  
_See no evil. Speak no evil._

**D**i**s**c**l**a**i**m**e**r: Oh emm eff gee, I don't own Naruto. :)  
**S**o**n**g: _Old School_ by _Hedley_

C**h**. **T**h**i**r**t**y **O**n**e **– Just a Memory (Earth's Luckiest)

_So why don't you meet me, down behind the old school  
We'll waste away the weekend, with perfect regard for how  
Cavalier we used to be, that beautiful insanity  
The apathy's surrounding me  
Don't close your eyes or we'll fade away_

**S**a**k**u**r**a

This was _the_ most awkward situation of my life.

I sat among the stares of Sasuke, Neji, Naruto, and Shikamaru in the little grey house that was slowly falling apart.

There was a smell around the living room. The lights were off, and there were papers, trash, and discarded items of clothing lying randomly on the lamps, the couches, the television, the coffee table, and of course the floor, which was so hidden I couldn't even see the color anymore. I didn't even _remember_ the color, and I didn't doubt it was a stained puce now.

No one said a thing as I sniffed to a slight silence, hands folded on my lap as I just sat there on the sofa across from the four boys. They'd let me just sit there and calm down, but I refused to let them comfort me and made them sit on the other sofa as I sobbed into my lap and tried to get my head straight.

I looked up at them finally, feeling a little stupid. My hair was frizzy, my face was red and swollen from crying. But Sasuke said, "Are you…ready to tell us or…something?" He was acting different, awkward and unsure of himself.

"Y-Yeah…" I mumbled shyly. It just…felt like I didn't even know these people, this place. Even though I practically lived here half a year ago. "Um…"

My eyes widened when yet again the seriousness of the reason I was here sunk in.

"_Crap_! Guys, I need help! TenTen and Hinata! Oh shit, shit, _shit_!" I jumped to my feet, and the four boys just stared at me as I fisted my hands in my hair, eyes huge. "TenTen's fucking _dead_, agh!"

"Just…explain what's going on and stop freaking out," Shikamaru said, holding up his hands.

I stared at them. "TenTen left in the middle of the night like an idiot without telling us where she was going and we figured out she spelled out the license plate of whatever car she was taken away in when she was fighting against whoever was taking her away who she let take her away willingly which is probably to Orochimaru's third station or something and Hinata and I went back home to figure out where the _hell_ the fucking _idiot_ went off to and Hinata went out the window and took the fucking _car _probably to go to Orochimaru's third station and—hah, hah…" I had to stop to breath, and Sasuke jumped to his feet as I felt my chest start to burn and leaned over, wrapping my arms around my stomach and feeling my lungs expand and contract way too fast, panting.

"Sakura, stop it, you're hurting yourself!" Sasuke ordered, concerned as he put a hand to my back. He looked up. "Shikamaru, get her a water bottle from the kitchen."

Shikamaru left the room wordlessly, and Neji sighed, annoyed, as I calmed myself, sitting with Sasuke and taking long breaths.

"Haruno, you don't have to worry. Temari went after TenTen, they were fighting two men at Kabuto's place. From the looks of it, they were at the advantage."

I looked up at him, wiping sweat from my eyes. "Wh-What – how did you…how were you seeing…what was happening…?" My speech was slurred and scattered, voice shaking. I really was a mess, I'd never been so hysterical in my life. My emotions did, however, always have a tendency to hurt me physically.

Shikamaru came back into the room, and he coughed nervously, hearing my question, as he handed me the water bottle which I took willingly. "Um, we'll tell you later," he said as I unscrewed the cap eagerly and took a sip, letting the relieving feeling of the cold water wash down my throat. The feeling of drinking water was so refreshing I didn't bother wondering what it was.

"Well…" Naruto spoke up timidly. I looked at him. "What…What did you say about Hinata-chan…?" he asked. I stared at him.

'_He…He still loves her…!_' I thought, shocked, but I got the idea out of my head to concentrate.

"She…She left," I said. "I think she went to Orochimaru's third station, like I said. I don't know why, maybe it was to find TenTen or something. I…don't' know…"

Naruto's eyes widened. "She went to the third station?!"

"You know about the stations?" I asked, staring around.

"Yeah, but that's beside the point," Sasuke spoke up next to me. I suddenly realized how close we were, and I blushed; I'd almost forgotten the coolness of his hands, his deep voice… "Naruto."

Naruto nodded, jumping to his feet. "I'll bring her back."

"Wh-What?! Wait!" I tried to get to my own feet, but Sasuke held me down.

"Sakura, don't try to do anything more," he said sternly. "You've done enough. You three are in a tough situation. Yes, you've improved. Together, you're almost unstoppable. But separated, you're helpless. Don't try to do anything you can't. Just sit tight and wait for it."

I watched as Naruto grabbed a gun, a large bag, and the car keys, and left.

"Naruto…can drive…?"

"Yeah, I'm predicting about five accidents, what would you say Hyuuga?"

"Seven."

**H**i**n**a**t**a

I tried to swallow as much air as I could, but it was getting harder and harder to breath; I was running for my life down a dark hall, my footsteps echoing against the walls and back to me. The lights were off, and it was a dead end from where I'd exited the elevator. I'd lost track of how many floors I'd fled up and down, avoiding busy halls and winding around different hallways, trying to count down the room numbers.

I looked to the side and my right hand tightened around the key; the numbers **393**, **394**, and **395** were flashing by me as I ran, chest heaving, hair flying behind me. They all seemed empty, and the only light came from the elevator, still open at the end of the hall, which meant I was in luck; no one was heading for that elevator yet.

**396**, **397**, **398**, **399**…

I finally stopped and fell over myself, catching myself with one hand on the ground and straightening up to stand facing the door with **400** painted on it. I glanced behind me. The elevator was still motionless. I turned back to the door. The hallway was dark, which meant no one was in any of the rooms.

I felt like the luckiest person on earth.

I looked at the warning sticker on the door that read '**CAUTION**' in big bold letters. There was a small slot for the chip on the side of the door in the wall, and I slowly slipped the chip in. Nothing happened, and there wasn't even a beep. I grit my teeth and exhaled, glancing around the hall again before turning back to the door and pulling the chip out carefully, then flipping it around and sliding it in again. This had to work, it was the right key to the right door!

I heard a loud click, and the doors suddenly opened automatically. I backed up quickly, pulling out my gun and standing off to the side of the doors, glancing in the room.

It was pitch black in that room, except for the dim blue, green, and red glows that came from the many lights around the room. There was a very large computer in the center with four other computers attached around it with different folders full of codes for databases and things like that. Everything was flashing and glowing. This was the technological control room…

I smiled in spite of myself, seeing it empty. It was perfect! I walked inside very slowly and looked around, then I shook myself from my small confused trance and ran quickly over to the chair in front of the computer, pulling myself up and breathing out evenly. The cameras had surely spotted me, and even though I heard the doors close in on me again, they would be here soon…

I cracked my knuckles and turned to some folders.

"Time to get to work."

**S**a**k**u**r**a

"So…you think Naruto will get to her alright…?" I asked softly as we sat in the living room, less one person.

"He'll be fine," Sasuke assured me. "He's best at sneaking around places. We call it 'dirty work' for a reason; it's spying, and it's cheating. And that's Naruto's specialty, in case you haven't noticed."

I nodded. "I have…" I sighed. "I just…I hope Temari can get TenTen…"

"Temari's strong," Shikamaru said simply, as if that answered all my questions. I couldn't find myself convinced, however, no matter how hard I tried.

"Is TenTen strong enough, though…?" I wondered out loud.

"You've improved, haven't you? The three of you?" Shikamaru said reasonably. "I'm sure she'll be fine. We just have to wait."

Fortunately, I didn't have to wait long. I felt my cell phone vibrate, and I gasped and pulled it out of my pocket.

I stared at it, then looked at everyone and squeaked. "What if it's her?!" I asked ecstatically.

"Who?" Neji muttered, looking annoyed. "TenTen or Hinata? And if it's the enemy, calling on one of their cell phones? You're a time waster, Haruno."

I frowned. Neji had never liked me. I couldn't see why TenTen practically worshiped this bastard.

My gaze softened after that. She used to worship him…Now, she hated him…

"Sakura?"

I jumped when Sasuke touched my arm hesitantly and backed away from him quickly, giving him an almost scared glance. "Sh-Should I put it on speaker?!"

Sasuke stared at me. "Yeah…"

I breathed out, long and slow, and opened the phone, pressing the speaker button. It blinked to life, and I glanced around the room, the three boys staring intensely at me, before timidly saying, "T…TenTen…?"

_"No, it's Rain. Famous pop star."_

"Oh, I love him…"

_"God damn it, who the hell do you think it is?!"_

"Oh I dunno, _Hinata_?!"

_"This is not the time to be arguing with you, Sakura, I'm in a __**shit-load**__ of trouble, so __**cooperate**__!"_

I noticed Neji's hand fisting on his knee from the corner of my eye, but ignored him. "Are you okay?" I asked, holding the phone out so everyone could hear her high voice.

_"Yeah, but I'm being held in what seems to be Kabuto's house, so obviously I won't be okay for long."_

"Wait, seriously?!"

_"Mhm, Kabuto's sweet pad."_

"No need to be so sarcastic. What happened to Temari helping you?"

_"We separated after…wait, what? How did you know that?"_

"Um…"

It was completely silent on the other line, then her voice said, slowly and dangerously, _"Sakura…?"_

I winced. "Um…I went for help."

_"…I'll kill you later."_

I groaned and hid my face in my hands. "I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't have!"

_"Damn right you shouldn't have…But for now, be quiet, or someone on my end will hear you through the phone."_

"You're on…your cell phone…?"

_"Of course not. I knocked the guy out."_

"You would…Wait, what guy?"

_"The guy that was holding me."_

"Why are they holding you…?" Neji asked suddenly.

TenTen was completely silent on the other end. I couldn't blame her. The sound of a voice that you hadn't heard in so long, yet somehow remembered…Sometimes, memory was hard to the touch. It impacted you so that you could barely think straight. Even if you had completely memorized a face, a pair of hands, a voice…you could forget it over time. Then, it would come right back at you and hurt you, deeply…

_'Memory is painful…_'

_"Sakura…take me off of speaker before someone here hears you…"_ she said softly.

I glanced at Neji, who just stared at his knees, and then I turned back to the phone. "Okay…" I quickly switched her over to the main phone. "Now what do I do to get you out of there? Did they blindfold you?"

_"Halfway to the room I'm in now they took the blindfold off, so I don't know my surroundings."_

"Hinata should be able to tell the relative location of what part of the building you're in if she gets some description."

_"Is she there?"_

"…I don't know where she is…I think she set off to find you."

_"She'll never find me."_

"I know she'll never find you. But she turned off her cell phone, and…and, um, Naruto's after her…"

_"What?! Seriously?!"_

"Yeah…"

_"…Wow…we really are in a situation, aren't we?"_

"Ya think?" I muttered. I sighed. "So I guess I'm gonna be the one to save your ass, then?"

_"Yup."_

"How do I do it?"

_"It's gonna be hard, but if we work together I think we can get out of here alive. So you're gonna have to go around the back."_

"How many people are guarding the back door, do you know? I'm not going to go through it, but someone might see me out of it."

_"No one's there, at least there was no one for Temari, it seemed."_

"Why did Temari ditch you again?"

_"She didn't…__**I **__ditched __**her**__."_

"Why?!"

_"That's beside the point. We need to make this quick. Alright, so from the look of the place, I can see out the window, it seems I'm in a room near the back."_

"Have you checked outside the door yet?"

_"No…"_

"Scared someone's gonna see ya?"

_"Yeah, exactly."_

"Well, just take a quick peek. But be careful, really careful."

_"Okay, I'm going…"_

"Take your time!" I hissed. I noticed the others listening in interestedly as I waited, then heard her sigh in relief.

_"No one saw me."_ I smiled. _"And I was right; I'm in a room in the hallway near the back door. You just have to go around the back of the place, it's probably really dusty because the ceiling's gone since I blew it up-"_

"You _what_?!"

_"I used your explosives, heh…"_

"You _stole_ my _explosives_?! TenTen! You _bitch_!"

_"Shut up, I'm trying to give you directions!"_ I snapped my mouth shut and thinned my lips, frustrated, waiting for more orders. _"Okay, so when you get in there, make sure you're careful. There's probably people walking around."_

"Well _yeah_, you kinda just blew their ceiling off!"

_"It's not that big of a deal, the hole's actually really small! There were no tiles for the ceiling to begin with!"_

"The doesn't mean you had to blow it up!"

_"Okay, just shut up, you're distracting me!" _She sighed._ "There's a door on the side of the room that leads to a really long, dark hallway. I'm in the room at the very-"_

_BAM!_

I jumped in surprise and nearly dropped the phone, then stared at it. It was silent. I felt my heart drum in terror. "T-TenTen…?" I whispered. I noticed Sasuke and Neji stiffen, watching me, out of the corner of my eye. Then there was the dial tone. My hand started to shake. "_Ten_!" I screamed.

"What happened?" Sasuke asked immediately.

I snapped the phone shut and turned to him, horrified. "Th-There was a gun shot, and then she was quiet…I…!"

In a second Neji was on his feet, gun in his pocket.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Oi, Hyuuga!"

But Neji was out the door.

**H**i**n**a**t**a

I ran a hand through my hair and continued to look through the folders.

So far, there was nothing, and I'd gone over every single detail of all the papers I'd looked at. Which was giving me a pounding headache. All I could see was the same scribble on pale paper.

I groaned and slammed the folder shut again. This was the control room, why wasn't I getting anything to help me?! All I could find was maps and stations for wires and plugs and directions on how to work the computer. I already _knew_ how, I was, after all, the most resourceful out of all of us.

And as such…

I smiled a bit and turned back to the computer.

If I was resourceful, I could do this _without_ codes.

I clicked on the folder in the corner of the screen and waited for it to load. It came to a green page with a blinking line in a large box with the word **Password** written over it. I frowned and placed my fingers on the keyboard. These people were good. They made sure they didn't leave folders lying where just anyone could get them, folders with potential passwords and codes inside of them. No wonder I wasn't finding anything.

I closed my eyes. There had to be something I could do. '_Think about the nature of Orochimaru and his men,_' I told myself. '_Think of what would be considered typical relating to them. They're definitely not unprofessional in __**here**__, unlike at the other two stations. They should have chosen a certain collection of numbers and letters, most likely five characters long, that they can remember somehow._'

I opened my eyes and looked around the room. There had to be some way to figure it out. I was running out of time.

I grit my teeth and stood, walking around the room, my eyes catching on every little shadow and every nick.

And _that's_ when I noticed something.

The pipes on the walls…

I stared at them. They were smart, here. They had to figure out a way to remember the numbers easily, though, because no one would be able to memorize something like that under pressure…

The pipes. They were wound in a way that they stretched around each other, water vapor condensing on the outsides of them, making a small humming sound.

I walked slowly towards them across the room, staring. There were two short ones, one large one, five large ones, three short ones, one large one…

I turned and ran back to the chair, slamming my fingers into the keyboard almost violently to type, **21531**.

I pressed **Enter** excitedly and stared as it read **Access Denied. Loading: 3 Minutes.**

I groaned and stared at the keyboard. There had to be something relating to those numbers. I memorized them quickly, then stared around the keyboard.

I looked back up at the computer screen and grit my teeth. Three minutes wasn't enough! I had to do this fast! I looked back down at the computer, forcing myself to realize that I might as well figure out the code while it was loading and not waste time. stared around the keys, and kept glancing at the timer as well. One minute…fifty seconds…

My eyes danced along each small square key. The numbers weren't working. Maybe…

The box came back, and I slowly typed in, **wQTEeQ**. The way they appeared on the keyboard, they matched the numbers. Two short…that meant the second key, lower case, and so on…

I pressed enter slowly, tentatively. This was taking a great risk…

I gave a small, "Yes!" as the screen began to load. I felt an enormous sense of satisfaction as I watched the screen. I'd never really done any code cracking before. When I was in the gang, I wasn't allowed to do any action. All I did was clean. I was useless, as usual, and everything I _did_ do was small and insignificant.

Now, I was opening something forbidden, something that would help the entirety of Konoha and maybe, just maybe, aid to stopping Orochimaru.

I was doing something people never thought I'd do. And I loved it.

It finally blinked to life, and I stared.

"…Wh…What…?"

I was astounded at what I was suddenly seeing, blinking in front of me repeatedly. My fingers started shaking, and I moved the curser to the edge of the window towards a link, clicking.

I was somehow expecting this. But it still made me freeze in horror.

**T**e**n**T**e**n

"For the last time, my name's _Ayame_," I said loudly.

I was sitting, tied to a chair, literally, by thick strands of yellow rope, tightened around my waist and the chair's back, in the same small room. Three men were surrounding me. My arms were free, but one of the men held my right arm, and the other one my left, and another was behind me holding onto my shoulders, so I couldn't move. The three of them had burst in and almost shot me, but I'd dodged, dropping the cell phone as I did, so the window behind me was shattered now and sunlight filtered in. Now, I was being interrogated. Not that I'd tell them the truth. And I'd planned to put Ayame's memory to good use.

"Ayame's no longer alive," the man on the right said. "What's your name? We can do this all day if we have to."

"It's _Ayame_! I can't see why you can't-_ah_!" I let out a pained cry when they slapped me across the face. I grit my teeth against the burning pain on my swollen cheek, a bit of blood trickling from the left corner of my lips. But I said nothing more.

"Alright, you're persistent enough. Why don't you tell us who you were calling? The police? Because the police aren't gonna help you, sweetie."

"Don't call me that. And it wasn't the police."

"Then who was it?"

I resisted the urge to smirk at my own idiocy.

"It was trying to call my mom."

There was another sharp slap to my face, and I hissed in pain.

"Quit trying to play around! Who were you trying to call?!"

"I told you, my mom!"

I heard a small laugh, suddenly, from outside, and I stiffened. '_That sounds like…no, it's not him…it's probably Sakura, coming like I said…_'

"Cooperate!"

I groaned after one more slap, my face was starting to burn and I could taste blood. "You're hitting me because I'm telling the truth?" I gasped between heavy breaths. "Jackasses…"

The man on my left glared. "You're not in a position to call us things, little _bitch_." He suddenly pulled out a very long knife, and my eyes widened.

"U-Um…words don't count if you don't mean them…" I stuttered, staring at the knife.

"Sorry, sweetie. Too late." The man on my right grinned and pushed me back. "We're gonna _make _you talk…"

"I call tops."

"Mm, bottom."

'_Oh shit, oh __**shit**__!_' I thought, starting to struggle as I realized what they were going to do to me.

"Don't touch me…" I growled, wiggling in the chair and trying to kick them in vain.

"We're gonna make you cry…" the man holding me from behind muttered greedily.

I glowered. "You're gonna have to cut off my arms to make me cry," I said loudly.

"Really? Not a bad idea."

I stiffened when suddenly they let me go and laughed like hyenas. I felt, suddenly, a hand pull my arm, and I closed my arms as I felt it get strained and twisted wrongly. He slammed my arm down harshly on the filing table next to me, and I winced, feeling the bruises start to form, joined by the bruises covering the rest of my body. I felt like a mess, hair down and tangled, blood and bruises covering my face and arms and legs and hands.

And when I cried out in pain, feeling the blade of the knife suddenly sink into my wrist, the blood seeping out over the wound made it even worse. "Nn! What the hell are you doing?!" I moaned, squeezing my eyes shut as yet again the blade sunk a little further up on my arm, a little deeper.

"Cute. She hasn't even heard of the blood bracelets," one of the men said almost gleefully as the blade sunk in one more time.

My eyes watered with the pain, but I wouldn't let them have any satisfaction. I kept holding onto the idea that Sakura was coming. Or…

'_Someone…_'

"_AH_!" Each time they sliced my arm it was closer to my elbow, and a little deeper. This time, it was unthinkably deep, and I'd never been hurt that badly before. My voice came out strangled and in deep anguished pain, shaking with a dry sob. But I wouldn't let myself cry.

'_Someone's coming. Someone's coming…Please, someone…!_'

I'd never wanted help so badly before.

I'd already gotten what I wanted, I had to get out of here.

'_But no one's coming…_'

_BAM_!

Suddenly the man with the knife dropped to the ground, screaming in pain. I stared stupidly, openmouthed for a while, along with the other two men, before I got my senses about me. I slammed my now free elbow into the man on my right, who dropped to the ground, clutching his nose, then wriggled around and punched the man behind me in the face, then again in the head, successfully knocking him out.

Unfortunately, the elbow wasn't enough to do the same. The man on my right growled and lunged at me, and I cringed, but there was yet another bang, and he dropped to the ground in a shower of blood.

I gulped and wrenched the ropes away from me, then stared at my arm and whimpered in pain. It was covered in blood, and the four long wounds were deep and painful. I bit my lip and held my arm to me, closing my eyes to calm my racing heart.

Then, I heard a thump coming from the destroyed window. I turned very slowly, lifting my head gradually. My eyes widened, my lips parted in shock, and I stared at the one person I never wanted to see again.

Or maybe…was wanting to see so badly I'd do anything…

**H**i**n**a**t**a

I hadn't thought about this before.

It wasn't just dictatorship. This was _imperialism_!

"…I…don't believe it…" I whispered to myself, staring at the screen. "Orochimaru..." This was more information than I'd wanted. This was incredible, though. Orochimaru was a pure genius. An awful, sick, and twisted man. But brilliant.

And this was too much. I stared at the screen, feeling overwhelmed. I'd never seen something like this before. I was suddenly second-guessing myself. Wondering if we could really do this. If we stood a chance against Orochimaru…

Suddenly there was a sound that signalized my time had finally run out.

The sound of footsteps outside the door.

I gasped and jumped to my feet, glancing once more at the computer screen before dashing to hide behind one of the machines, crouching low, and just in time, because a second later the room was filled with a slight, dim light as the doors opened, and there were quiet, careful footsteps.

I calmed my beating heart and retracted my gun, locking it as silently as possible. I heard the footsteps rounding the corner, straying from the computer that I'd left on, and come closer to me, and I decided it was now or never.

I jumped out from behind the machine and held my gun out with both hands. Unfortunately, the person, shadowed by the dark, also held their gun out as well.

The two of us stood there, pointing our guns at each other, before I heard a voice that was familiar to me.

Wonderfully familiar…

"H…Hinata…?"

I stared at the shadowy figure, and only when he lowered his gun was I certain.

"Naruto…"

And that was that. The last thing I saw was his relieved grin before I dropped to the ground.

**S**a**k**u**r**a

I sat next to Sasuke, across from Shikamaru, fiddling with my hands in my lap, staring at my cell phone sitting uselessly on the coffee table in front of me. I put one hand up to the back of my neck; it felt strange without as much hair there. But I'd needed to cut it. It wasn't only originality, but also, well…my long hair was in the way. And if I was going to be fighting, well, hair didn't matter anymore. Nothing besides TenTen and Hinata mattered…

'_Some things used to matter_…' I thought, staring at my hands. '_Mom. School. Friendship. The gang. Temari and Ino and Matsuri. Shikamaru and Naruto and Neji and…Sasuke…_'

I closed my eyes.

'_Why don't you matter anymore, Sasuke…?_'

Sasuke suddenly stiffened next to me, and I glanced up. I noticed the sound of a car door slamming, and I jumped to my feet with a shriek.

"Who is it?! Is that Naruto?! With Hinata?! Oh god, oh god, oh god…"

"Sakura, just calm down…" Sasuke said, standing as well.

Shikamaru coughed, "If that's possible."

I ignored them and stared at the door anxiously.

It opened suddenly. I stared. Naruto came through with a concerned look on his face, carrying protectively in his arms…

…an unconscious Hinata.

"_Hinata_!" I screamed, so loud that Sasuke and Shikamaru both had to cover their ears and Naruto winced.

"Quiet, you'll wake her up!" he hissed.

I just stood, paralyzed, hands to my mouth, as Naruto laid her down carefully one of the sofas.

I immediately ran over, pushing the blonde out of the way violently and sending him stumbling (my strength had not deflated), and I pressed a hand to Hinata's forehead. "She doesn't have a fever…" I whispered. I closed my eyes in relief. "I guess she was just under a lot of stress. She faints sometimes when she's going through a lot of pressure. Possibly seeing you, Naruto, was the last straw for her…"

Naruto shifted guiltily. "I-I'm sorry…"

"Don't be…" I mumbled, sitting next to her and slipping a hand under her head. "For now, she can't stay like this, worried and unknowing. So…" I pressed two fingers into a certain spot of her neck, and she gasped, sitting straight up, eyes snapping open.

She glanced around, chest heaving, and then looked at me. "S…Sakura-chan…?" she whispered.

I nodded with a smile. "Are you okay?"

She pulled her hair out of her face, taking deep calming breaths. "What…Why are…?"

"I got help. Are you okay?" I repeated.

"I-I'm fine…"

"Naruto, get her a water bottle," I ordered, looking up. Hearing Naruto's name, Hinata turned to stare at him, a bit of a blush on her cheeks and a sad, longing look in her eyes. I felt my heart dip just a little in pity at that.

Naruto scratched the back of his head, grinning guiltily. "Er…We don't have any."

I stared at him incredulously. "…What…?"

"We only have Pepsi right now. You used up the last water bottle we had."

"You're kidding me, right?"

"Well, it's not _my_ fault! Temari won't drive me anywhere to go shopping anymore, and that's _my_ job! I mean, she keeps going on about how I crashed her car and she's not letting me in it ever again!"

"Dobe," Sasuke muttered. "You nearly _killed_ the fucking car!"

"Well so_rry_! Teme!"

Hinata and I watched the two arguing. They really hadn't changed after all…

"Wait…Where's TenTen-chan?!" Hinata asked suddenly.

I bit my lip. "She's at Kabuto's, that's where they took her," I said. Hinata stood, suddenly, and crossed over to the door. I jumped to my feet and ran after her. "Hinata?!"

"I'm waiting here," she said simply, staring determinedly at the door.

I stood next to her, watching her, and sighed, taking her hand in mine. "I'll wait with you," I said softly. I felt my eyes start to water. "But what if she's not okay?" I whispered. "She could have been shot. Or maybe…"

"Or what?" Hinata said softly, not looking at me.

"Maybe the same thing happened to her that happened to me…" I said shakily, my voice wavering with dry sobs. I noticed the three boys staring at us off to the side, but I didn't care. "What should I do…?!"

She squeezed my hand, though. "We've done enough, Sakura…" she whispered. "All we can do now is hope..."

**T**e**n**T**e**n

"Neji…"

Neji raised an eyebrow as he leaned against the window frame, putting his gun away and watching me. His hair was in a high pony tail now, and I had to admit, it looked even better. He was dressed in a brown short sleeved shirt under a silver sports jacket, over jeans and brown Vans. He looked better than me, in the clothes I'd been in for two days, my hair down and tangled, covered in blood, cuts, and bruises…

"TenTen," he responded simply, walking over after putting his gun away and standing directly in front of me, looking down at me.

I bit my lip. "What…what are you doing here…?"

He shrugged. "Saving your ass."

"But…" I swallowed, clearing my dry throat silently. "Even…even after all those things I said, you're still…?"

He smirked a bit, however. "Come on. 'Words don't count if you don't mean them.'" My lips parted as I recognized my own words. He smiled, seeing my reaction. "I didn't mean what I said. You didn't mean what you said. Memories are worthless unless they can make you smile when you look back at them."

He held a hand, palm up, out towards me.

"I don't apologize. However, I do help…"

I stared at him.

"_I don't apologize." Neji said simply, but he walked forward to me suddenly, stopped, and held out a hand downwards. There was a small smirk on his face. "However, I do help."_

That night, long ago…

_I stared at his hand, then smiled and reached out to it. But suddenly, my mind spun, and words flashed through my brain, words that were spoken a long time ago, but words, of among many, that I still remembered a little __**too**__ well._

My hand reached for his tentatively.

"_**Do you see? There she is, TenTen. Her parents died because of her, did you hear? Disgusting child, she didn't repent a thing. She doesn't deserve our company. Leave her alone…"**_

My fingers were shaking, my wounded arm held close to my chest. To my wounded heart.

_I retracted my arm and jumped to my feet in a flash, narrowing my eyes. "I don't need your help." I muttered, looking at the ground and rubbing my burning arms._

Maybe that was why we could never _really_ connect. Why there was always something missing.

'_Sakura Hinata and I always hold each other's hands. But we fail to realize the other hands held out to us. The other paths we can take, __**together**__. That doesn't mean we'll be separated. That doesn't mean we'll never see each other again, or we'll feel alone_.'

"Thanks," I said softly, and my fingers landed in his palm, his own fingers wrapping around them.

'_In fact, we'll feel less alone than ever before…_'

**x**x**x**x**x**

I'd thought that maybe it would be a little easier between Neji and I after we'd jumped out the window together and he'd pulled me along, saying he'd 'jacked a car for the moment'. But it was more awkward between us than ever.

I sat in the passenger seat of the stolen car, staring out the window and occasionally glancing sideways at Neji, who was busy driving; speeding, of course. It seemed to be a 'gang thing'. It also seemed to be a 'gang thing' to not use a turn signal, go through red lights, turn corners while driving on barely two wheels, run over raccoons, and flip any protesters off.

Teenage gangs were kind of screwed up.

I hated silent car rides, but I could find nothing to say. It seemed Neji was concentrating too hard to get home, as well, so I decided not to bother him.

But when we finally rounded the corner of the same familiar street, I was staring to get excited, and soon enough I couldn't help but chatter.

"I hope Hina-chan's okay! I think she's okay, I mean, she's always been strong, but oh shit, if she's not, I'll _kill_ someone, and I mean it this time!" I babbled, not exactly to Neji, although he had an amused look on his face, but to myself. Trying to reassure myself that everything was alright.

"Haruno was terrified, you know," Neji said conversationally. "Worried sick about you. You kinda scared _everyone_ actually."

"Even you?" I blurted out, but I put my hands to my mouth, cursing myself mentally. How could I have said that?!

But he chuckled and nodded. "Yes, even me."

I frowned, feeling myself blush just a bit, and stared out the windshield at the house we approached. Neji pulled the stolen car off to the side of the street very sloppily and randomly, and at the first chance given to me, I hopped out of the car and walked quickly over to the house, Neji close behind me.

My heart nearly stopped (I myself _did_ stop, finding my legs unable to walk) when I saw the two familiar faces in the door, beaming at the sight of me and rushing out, followed curiously by Naruto, Sasuke and Shikamaru.

Sakura and Hinata ran over to me, and we hugged excitedly. I felt Hinata's tears, heard Sakura crying, and wiped away my own tears, pulling back to look at them as Neji greeted the three boys on the side of the lawn.

"TenTen…" Sakura suddenly lifted my shirt up only to show my stomach. I smiled at her as she examined the smooth, un-broken skin, then she let me go, leaned over, and began to sob in relief into her hands. Hinata smiled and hugged her tightly, taking my hand in hers.

"You have no idea how much you scared us," she said with a small relieved laugh.

"I'm fine," I assured them with a smile. "I promise, I-"

_BAM!_

"OW!" I found the world spinning after Sakura's fist slammed into my head.

I stumbled backwards. Everything turned white, then red, then normal, but then it was all rushing around me and I was on the ground a second later, groaning.

"THAT'S FOR SCARING THE SHIT OUT OF US YOU LITTLE IDIOT!" Sakura roared.

I sat up, holding onto my head. "What the hell, that's the second time today," I heard Shikamaru say.

"Poor TenTen," Naruto said cheerfully.

"You little…!" I jumped to my feet, ignoring the pounding pain in my head, and used my good arm to sock Sakura right in the stomach. "What's your _problem_, you little _bitch_?! I'm fucking _injured_ and you go _beating me up_?!"

Sakura recovered, holding onto her stomach and getting her wind back, and glared at me. "You ran away in the middle of the night leaving us a note saying not to follow you, which somehow meant to _actually_ follow you, then leave us a stupid little _code_ that tells us barely _anything_?!"

"I thought you were _smarter _than that, do you have any idea how hard it is to do something like that when someone's beating the crap out of you?! I used my own _blood_ to try and get you guys to help me, and what do I get?! _Nothing_! In fact, only at the _last minute_ did someone _finally_ come, and was it you guys?! Oh, no, you were too busy _worrying_ about me!"

"You did absolutely _nothing_ to help us, you little _idiot_! What the hell was the point of your little adventure, huh? Beat six full-grown men up, ditch Temari, and come back expecting us to bow to you?! Well I'm sorry, _Your Majesty_, but you haven't done anything that's prize-worthy!"

"You think I went in there for _nothing_?! You have no idea what I did, do you?! I _have_ something very _important_!"

"Oh yeah?! _What_?!"

"This!" I leaned down, slipped my hand into the heel of my boot, and pulled out a ring of keys that had been hidden there.

Sakura paused. "…What's that?"

"What the hell do you think?! It's the keys to Orochimaru's third station!"

Sakura stared at me, then she beamed. "TenTen, did I ever tell you you're brilliant?"

"You bitch…" I muttered, slipping the keys into my pocket.

"TenTen, Sakura, please…" Hinata said suddenly. That was when we noticed the four boys staring at us and turned around slowly. They were giving us looks as if we were the three biggest idiots on the planet, and at the moment, we sure felt it.

And at that moment, we realized what our _new _situation was.

Hinata pushed me forward, hissing, "Say something!"

"What?! Why me?!" I whispered over my shoulder.

"Because you're the one with the catchy phrases!" Sakura said under her breath. "Go!"

I turned around awkwardly. "Um…" I said uncomfortably. Sakura and Hinata egged me on behind my back. "Er…Hi?" They both slapped their foreheads, and I glared at them over my shoulder."You asked me to say something! What do you expect, a fucking speech?!"

"Just go on!"

"Hurry!"

I turned around and smiled as naturally as I could, but it felt like I had lockjaw. "Eh heh…uh…well, thanks for helping and all that, I guess."

I coughed, glancing around, feeling my cheeks blush a little bit as they just kept staring at us silently, raising their eyebrows coolly.

"Um…weather's warming up, huh?" I said, turning back to them. "Snow's…snow's melting and…yeah…"

I played with my hands in front of me distractedly, feeling Sakura and Hinata's eyes glaring at the back of my neck telling me to continue. "Hah, um…So, funny, thing, that guard I knocked out, the one who's cell phone I used and the one I took the keys from, well…the last thing he said was, 'Seashell!', which I…found pretty funny cause, um…yeah, you know, he was, like, loopy from being hit on the head so many times and…all that…Ha-ha, that's…that's…yeah, it's…stupid, not funny…ahem…"

"Keep going…" Sakura muttered.

"You're kidding me, right?"

I gasped and turned around, and I saw Temari standing there, staring at us, hands on her hips. She grinned, however, and laughed a bit. "You have _got_ to be kidding me! You three are probably the _luckiest_ bitches on earth!" She laughed harder. "I mean, TenTen's stuck in Kabuto's place, Hinata's in Orochimaru's third station, and both of you get out without getting raped or killed?! Hah! This is like a fucking joke!" She sighed, calming her laughter. I noticed how dirty and worn out she looked, and I frowned.

"Where's your motorcycle?"

She glared at the sky, stretching carelessly. "Some son of a bitch stole it. That's what I get for helping you, huh?"

I laughed sheepishly. "Eh heh…yeah…"

She smiled. "Whatever. I'll get it back later, I have people. Come on in, all of you." We stared at her, and she frowned. "What, you think we're not gonna give you hospitality? Those boys are probably just tryin' to act cool, as usual, but right now we want you in and we wanna talk to you. TenTen, you need that arm to be fixed up. Hinata, you need some water. Sakura, you need to sit down before you pass out from pure emotional exhaustion. So move it."

Everyone watched Temari climb the porch steps, then she paused and turned around as she opened the door and glared at us. "Well?! What the hell are you waiting for, huh?! _All _of you, get your stupid asses inside the fucking house!"

The boys all grumbled and obliged, probably used to Temari's bossiness (Sasuke muttered something about _him_ being the leader here and not her, although he did what she said without a fuss), and Sakura, Hinata and I glanced at each other.

'_I think this is what we've wanted all along,_' I thought with a relieved sigh, feeling myself finally start to relax. '_And even if it isn't…it's not only temporary, so we might as well trick ourselves into the thought that we do want this…We really, really do…_'

I smiled and held out my hands, and they each smiled back and took them.

'_We don't have to hide it anymore. These people changed us. Maybe violently, maybe strangely. Just like __**them**__, they're violent and strange and shit. But they're…__**fun**__. They're __**nice**__. And for the first time…_' I grinned a bit. '_They've welcomed us into their home. Into __**our**__ home._'

One step after the other, we walked down our new path. Up the cement steps of the porch, through the scratched wooden door, and, at long last, stepping safely into the house. We were finally in the place full of so many memories. We were lucky to be here. Home.

_'It might only be a moment.'_

_'It might not.'_

**X**X**X**X**X**

I can guess what you're all doing right now: **-DANCEDANCEDANCE-THEY'REBACKDAMNIT!-DANCEDANCEDANCE-** Yes, they are back. Well, not technically. They haven't joined the gang yet. But they're back to acknowledging their existence. Now reward me and review please? XD  
Re-Read & Edited while listening to: _All Star _by _Smash Mouth_. It's TenTen's theme song for this story, since she's kinda stupid and impulsive, but carefree and **fun**. ;)  
thanks for reading!  
xmarachanx


	29. To Be a Bitch

Hi there! (:  
Thanks so much:  
RisingTwinDragons93, anomynous, Chigiri Sasaki, Strawberry Smoothie, The Laughing Phoenix, Ukyou-Taisuke, UcHiHaHyUuGa, 123PIKACHU, kimiko77, Hikoru Aniki, waterdragonrai, LyricGirl16, Pnkrockninja101, Maya-chan2007, XxkikoroxX, turtlechick, Tobi-obsessed, Youkai Koneko, Black Blood Blossom, ShinobiXAngel, The Square, Metal-Blondie, The Sound Of Thunder, MidniteCurse4Eternity, yeji301, jolteonforever, Dreaming101, sanjana945, Nerd4eva  
Enjoy!

**X**X**X**X**X**

**H**e**a**r **N**o **E**v**i**l  
_See no evil. Speak no evil._

**D**i**s**c**l**a**i**m**e**r: Oh emm eff gee, I don't own Naruto. :)a  
**S**o**n**g: _Old School_ by _Hedley_

C**h**. **T**h**i**r**t**y **T**w**o** – To Be a Bitch

_Over and over and over again  
We sat down for a minute, grew up into men  
Now we're putting out fires and changing car tires  
Man how in hell did we get here?_

**T**e**n**T**e**n

Sakura had already worked on my small wounds. She said something about saving the worst for last. And this was it.

"Itai…Itai…!" I hissed over and over again. We sat in the living room of the house (which, Sakura had complained about angrily, was just as messy as when we'd first come, so it seemed they hadn't learned anything from Hinata's genius method of cleaning), among the papers and folders and empty beer bottles. Neji was cleaning his gun on the sofa across from us between Sasuke and Naruto, swishing a white rag he'd gotten from the back of his jean pocket into the nozzle with a finger. Naruto and Sasuke were arguing silently over his shoulder, which he ignored. Shikamaru was in the large arm chair, his laptop covering his face (which was probably shaded for sleeping), and Temari was sitting on the coffee table, watching as Sakura wrapped bandages very tightly across the wounds on my arm.

"Sorry, Ten-chan, that medicine stings, but it'll heal your arm," Sakura was saying reasonably as she worked.

I moaned childishly in pain, letting my head drop against the sofa's back. "It _hurts_…!" I complained.

"It'll hurt worse if it gets infected," Sakura remarked. "I honestly don't know why you let them do this to you, actually. Four slashes, and they get worse each time! What, were they high?"

"Nope," Neji suddenly spoke up. We all looked at him. "It's a normal method. I've had to use it plenty of times myself when interrogating."

"Only cause you can be one scary son of a-"

"It's called the blood bracelets," Neji interrupted Sasuke, who glowered.

Sakura stared, then laughed. "Wh-What?"

"That's a little…strange for a name, isn't it…?" Hinata asked as I stared at Neji incredulously.

Temari shrugged. "Maybe, but it's common. When they want to know something, they'll do the blood bracelet. You slice someone's wrist, then go higher and higher, deeper and deeper, until you get to the elbow. If they're still not talking…"

"Let me guess," Sakura said darkly. "You gang types are creepy enough; you kill them?"

"Yup," Neji said simply, going back to cleaning his gun as Temari dragged her finger across her throat dramatically to demonstrate. "Because they're considered worthless if they don't crack after that."

"So what you're saying," I said, glancing between Temari and Neji, "Is that if you two didn't come, I would have been killed just because I didn't say who I was calling on my cell phone…?"

Naruto nodded. "Bingo!"

"Neji, did I say thank you yet?"

"Nope."

"Thank you."

"Too late."

"Aw come on, Hyuuga, give her a break."

"I don't give anyone _breaks_, Uchiha."

"Then that proves you're a trademark jackass, Neji!"

"And Naruto, your existence proves the theory of idiocy."

"Is there such a theory, _Hyuuga_? Or are you just being an idiot yourself?"

"If you can't recognize sarcasm, _Uchiha_, then _you're_ the idiot."

I laughed happily, watching the three get into an argument, where Sasuke got angrier and angrier, Naruto egged them on by adding purposefully stupid statements, and Neji simply replied to everything he got calmly and with some sort of witty comeback. It was just the same, and I somewhat wanted to see Ino and Temari betting against each other again…

That's when I remembered what we were in here for…

Hinata and Sakura seemed to realize as well, for Hinata said, "Um…!"

The three boys stopped, Naruto in mid sentence ("But alligators can't-!"), and glanced at her. She clasped her hands together shyly. "Aren't there some questions you should be asking us…?"

Temari smirked. "Don't worry, we don't need no questions answered," she said. "We've been watching you." Yet again, there was some implementation in there that Sakura and I had heard before, and Hinata seemed to be catching on. All three of us glared at her suspiciously.

"You need to explain that…" Sakura said.

She smirked. "Well, let's see…"

"Shikamaru hacked into the satellite and we were following you around for the past couple weeks on a camera," Naruto said bluntly. Neji and Sasuke glared at him. Temari nodded smartly.

The three of us stared at them, then there was the explosion.

"Cool! Lemme see, I wanna see how it works!"

"WHAT?!"

"I-Is that…true…? How…how can you do something like that…?"

Temari grinned, watching us like we were a television program. "You're so predictable!"

I sat Sakura and Hinata down on either side of me using my hands on their shoulders, and sat down between them. "So…you were watching us?"

"Perverts!" Sakura gasped.

"Don't worry, it didn't work in bathrooms, and we barely saw anything," Shikamaru said calmly, voice muffled by his laptop.

"So what did you see?" Hinata asked.

Temari shrugged. "Well, it seems that you've improved. And you've been working as secretly as possible against Orochimaru's first and second stations with your newly acquainted friend Ayame. Is that correct?"

We nodded slowly, and she smiled, verified.

"So recently, you've been having some issues. You've been finding that you can get to the stations quicker, and unfortunately that means you've found the girls alive, or half-alive. Which meant that you became attached, so when they died, it was harder for you, right?"

We nodded again, staring at her. She seemed to know a lot, it was starting to sting a little…

"And then, your good friend Ayame died. Apparently TenTen, you'd had enough, so you decided to go and get a head-start on Orochimaru. You ran away in the middle of the night and went to purposefully catch the attention of some of Orochimaru's men. They came, and you fought against them so they wouldn't rape you or hurt you, they'd take you in for questioning as they'd be suspicious. And as you did so, you laid out a message for Sakura and Hinata, or someone, to go and find you. With your own blood, your weapons, and some snow. Right?"

"And you have no idea how hard it was," I muttered. "So you better appreciate it."

Temari nodded. "Right. And so you were taken to Kabuto's place. Meanwhile, Sakura and Hinata went looking for you, they found the message, and ran back home to research on it because they didn't realize it was a license plate. Fortunately, _we_ found the message and figured it out, and I went after you to help. Lucky I came because you were a second away from getting your ass kicked, TenTen."

"Whatever…" I said as Sakura smirked arrogantly.

"Meanwhile, Hinata ran off to Orochimaru's third station to get some information, I'm guessing." Hinata nodded slowly. "Sakura found her missing and ran to get help from Sasuke. She came in here, told him what was going on, and Sasuke sent Naruto after Hinata and Neji after TenTen. _And_, they each saved your asses-"

Hinata and I frowned.

"And, both of you getting what you came for, TenTen for the keys to Orochimaru's third station and Hinata some information that I still really want to know about…you both came back here alive and otherwise fairly intact." She clapped her hands together. "The end. Now, it's your turn, Hinata."

Hinata blushed. "U-Um…It's not really that big of a deal, but it's…overwhelming…"

"Go on, Hina-chan!" I said with a small wince as Sakura pressed against my wound.

She nodded. "Well, I…I went into the technology room, and I finally cracked the password on the computer…And I found something…in the file…"

"Come on, spit it out," Temari said impatiently.

She bit her lip. "W-Well…Orochimaru's planning on…"

"On what?" I asked.

"He's planning on taking…" She paused. "I don't know how to say this…"

"Come on, what?" Sakura asked, still working on my arm.

She sighed. "Well, he's planning on spreading out to…control Japan's power…"

"You mean, like…dictatorship…" Sasuke said, eyes wide.

"No…" Hinata said softly. "Imperialism…"

"Hinata…?" Sakura asked, confused.

"He's starting with Konoha. He's ending with the entire world's power source in his hands."

"What are you talking about?" Shikamaru asked, taking his laptop away from his face.

"His techs are…advanced, to say the least," Hinata explained. "They've already taken control of Konoha's electrical power plants and such. And there were plans, maps, scripts…of what to take over, how to take it over. And it's…the world."

I felt my heart rate increase as Sasuke suddenly grabbed a notebook and started scribbling down madly with a faded pen. "That's…scary…" I whispered.

"You're telling me," Neji said darkly. "I thought his goal was just Konoha."

"No, it's the world," Hinata said quietly. "Imperialism…dictatorship…world power…He wants it all, and it's all going to happen through violence, bloodshed, and threats…"

"So _that's_ it?!" Sakura cried. "That's why he's raping innocent girls, because he wants to _threaten_ us into cooperating?!"

"Something like that," Hinata said sadly. "It's sick, but…it's predictable…"

Sasuke slapped his notebook shut. "I've got it all written down in the records," he said, businesslike. "Shikamaru, get started on filing a meeting as soon as everyone's schedule can handle it."

"And the specific location?" Shikamaru asked, opening his laptop and getting started.

"No, whatever works for everyone else," Sasuke said. He turned to us. "We'll wait to talk everything over till the meeting, until then, it's officially classified information. Thanks, Hinata."

She nodded, turning to her hands in her lap.

Temari sighed, calming herself. "Well, I guess till we wait for responses, you guys might as well guess."

We stared at her. "Um…" Sakura said as she finished wrapping the bandages, now starting to tuck them into each other. "Er, thanks for clarifying everything, I guess, but, uh…what do you mean?"

Temari smiled. "Your turn to try and figure out what _we've_ been doing."

Our eyes widened. I snatched my arm away from Sakura as soon as she finished, holding onto it. "You're serious?" Sakura asked, beckoning for my arm again which I placed in her open hand again reluctantly.

"Yep. Go ahead, take a shot." Temari swiveled around on the coffee table so she was lying on her back, neck arched over the edge so she could contemplate our reactions. "What are you waiting for?"

I bit my lip as Sakura pressed her fingers into the crook of my elbow; she was testing my tendons. '_Damn._' "Um…slacking?"

Temari gave a harsh laugh. "Explain how we saved your asses, then."

"I was kidding," I muttered darkly, closing my eyes as Sakura's fingers pressed down my arm.

"What are you doing…?" I heard Naruto ask.

"Checking to see if her bones, tendons, veins, and, or, arteries are injured," Sakura explained smartly. I opened my eyes and noticed Sasuke watching her curiously as she worked, and I glared at him. I hadn't forgiven him yet, not by a long-shot, and that's what got me to snatch my arm away from Sakura and get to my feet.

Sakura glanced at me. "TenTen, I'm not done yet! What are you doing?"

"Hold on a second, I forgot to give Sasuke something," I said loudly, striding over to him.

He looked up at me expectantly, confused. "What?"

_SLAP!_

"Enjoy," I said darkly as he held a hand up to his smacked cheek, expression shocked. I crossed back down and sat next to Sakura, who gaped at me.

"Wh-What the heck was that?!" Sakura cried as Temari and Naruto both burst out laughing and Neji just looked pleased. Shikamaru was falling asleep in the chair, the lazy idiot.

"I'm mad at you," I said, facing the outraged Sasuke calmly. "It's your fault that…_thing _happened to Sakura, so-"

"Ten…" Sakura spoke up suddenly. I glanced at her, and she shook her head. "Just don't. It's okay."

I sighed. "Whatever. Either way, Sasuke, don't expect me to go easy on you."

"I wont, trust me…" Sasuke said grudgingly, holding a hand to his cheek and scowling. I ignored that and let Sakura feel my arm again.

"Either way…" Hinata said, seeming exasperated and speaking up at last. "We should probably be informed of your recent…" She struggled to find the right word. ", whereabouts. It's only fair."

"Oh, I can tell you everything," Temari said suddenly, a very grim smile on her face as she sat up rightly again. "We have, not with my consent, joined forces with Karin, the _miraculous_ Ami, and their gang."

Sakura, Hinata and I stiffened and stared at the three suddenly nervously fidgeting boys across from us. "What…?" Sakura asked slowly, menacingly, dropping my arm.

Sasuke opened his mouth to make an excuse, but I interrupted him. "No! No freakin' way, alright?!"

"Hey, to give some small defense, and trust me I have a right to," Temari pointed out, "Karin was the one that suggested we join, and she's actually helping out a lot. It's Ami that's bugging us."

I stared at Temari. "Karin…what? Are you defending Karin?"

Temari shrugged. "She's the one that came to me once you left, you know," she said, giving me a meaningful stare. I turned to my knees. If she did that, then…was she really the Karin I used to hate?

"What changed her?" Sakura asked suddenly.

Temari grinned a bit. "You three, obviously." I looked back up at her, and she continued. "Well, actually, to be more specific; the arrival of Orochimaru. See, Sakura, she knows how you feel."

"…Oh…" Sakura's hand flew to her stomach. I noticed from the corner of my eye Sasuke's own eyes traveling with the hand, seeming troubled.

"Yup," Temari said sadly. "She was raped by Orochimaru's men, just like you. And it was worse for her, from how she described it. They were close to killing her if Ami didn't come."

"So that," Hinata gathered. ", is why she started the gang with Ami."

"Yeah," Temari said. "Because she felt like it was one of the only ways to repay Ami, was to spend an unbreakable friendship with her. And because she didn't want anyone else to feel what she felt. Unfortunately, she couldn't prevent what happened to you."

Hinata nodded her head slowly, glancing at us. It wasn't that big of a shock for us, only because...we already knew that…

"I had no idea. She's a bitch, but she's cool, huh?" Temari laughed, then she sighed. "Ami, and the rest of the girls on her gang, however…well…" Suddenly we heard a loud booming sound coming from outside the house. Temari's head raised, and she narrowed her eyes.

"Speak of the Devil's whores…" she whispered.

As soon as Sakura, Hinata and I turned to see Tayuya, Ami, and Kin stalking up the lawn towards the house, we turned back to the three boys, even darker glares than before on our faces.

"Alright, I know what you're thinking," Sasuke said as Shikamaru glanced out the window and groaned aloud, hiding his face with his laptop again. Temari glanced at him haughtily and crossed one leg over the other on the coffee table. "But let me tell you I didn't invite them. They invite themselves over all the time."

"I wish Karin was here at least," Temari growled. I blinked. If she wanted Karin's company, then these three had to be bad…

"Shika-kun!" was the first thing I heard after the slamming of the door, simpered in such a sweet voice you would have thought the head of the cheerleading squad had just walked in. Unfortunately, it was Tayuya and her friends. All three very pretty, dressed in adorable outfits.

'_If only they weren't so bitchy…_'

Shikamaru quickly turned back to his laptop in an effort to ignore Tayuya as she scurried over to the sofa with the three boys on it immediately and sat down gracefully on the arm, swooping back her long, shiny hair.

"Sasuke-kun!" Ami sang as she and Kin walked in, not bothering to close the door and instead letting it slam shut behind them. They stopped as soon as they caught sight of the three of us, Tayuya gasping.

We stared at each other for a while, before I coughed.

"Well…" I said loudly, crossing one leg over the other. "Hello."

Ami narrowed her eyes. "This is interesting," she said darkly, looking us over. "Did you three come here on your knees begging for help? I heard you've been having some trouble recently from some…very nice sources of information."

"You mean Karin," Temari snapped. "Who _isn't_ some sort of property."

"Oh hush, sparks, I think we're starting a conversation with brownie here," Kin said loudly.

"Sparks? What the hell is it with you and nicknames?" Temari muttered.

"Well…" Ami said, placing her hands on her hips and trying to attract the attention of the room. She wasn't exactly successful.

'_Only Temari knows how to get everyone to look at her, how dare Ami mock her like that?!_' I thought angrily. I was actually only making myself excuses to be mad at them. So far they hadn't exactly insulted us, but I still disliked them.

"We might as well tell you, Sasuke-kun, why we're here."

"Okay, we'll just chill here and pretend to be nothing, then," I said loudly.

The three girls ignored me, however Temari snorted, and they turned to the boys at the sofa. "Okay, Sasuke-kun, we came here because…well, would you like to hear a story?" She and the girls all gave an excited, choking laugh that made Sakura gag silently.

Naruto groaned. "Not again…!"

"Uchiha, just tell them to fuck off," I could hear Neji mutter under his breath.

Sasuke sighed. "No, not really, Ami."

Sakura, Hinata and I all glanced at each other and smirked, suddenly.

We hadn't had a chance like this in ages…

"Sasuke!" Sakura cried with a scolding voice. Sasuke blinked at her, and she turned to Ami. "I'm so sorry about him. He can be so _rude_ sometimes."

"Yeah, go on, tell! You guys are _so_ cool!" I said with a friendly smile, trying not to show the sarcasm.

"Right. Whatever you have to say, I'm sure it's something legitimate and something that's _completely_ useful," Hinata said sweetly.

Ami, Kin and Tayuya all glanced each other, but Ami shrugged it off and turned to Sasuke. "Right. Okay, _so_, we were out to lunch and cutting through an alley-"

They were suddenly cut off by loud, fake coughing from Sakura and I. Everyone stared at us as we pretended to have a coughing fit, leaning over in our seats.

"Oh, sorry!" Sakura choked, pointing at her and me. "Bad cough! It's _really_ contagious!"

"Yeah, it's pretty gross, please ignore us," I said, adding another fake cough as Hinata and Temari snickered behind their hands.

Kin gave us a disgusted look, then turned back as Sakura and I stopped and smirked at each other.

"Okay…So we were in an alley, and we were…what's the word, Ami?"

"Oh! Oh! I looked it up, it's _confronted_!"

"HA!"

I clapped a hand over my mouth to cut off the start of my loud laugh as everyone stared at me.

Kin continued. "Okay, so we were…_confronted_ by three boys, just me and Ami and Tayuya. They were angry, but fortunately we didn't get hurt."

"Damn," Sakura and I hissed at the same time, snapping our fingers. When Kin glanced at us, we both gave them big smiles, and she went on, looking a little annoyed.

"They were upset about a…_favor_ we did for them-"

"RAPE," Sakura said loudly, examining her fingernails. I had to turn my face to the side so I wouldn't laugh out loud like Temari did. Kin, Ami, and Tayuya glared at Sakura, and she smiled. "Oh, sorry. I just felt like suddenly saying rape, you know, those random urges. It means nothing, please go on."

Kin did, but made sure to stick her tongue out angrily. "They apparently didn't get the money-"

"STATUTORY," I said. When everyone looked at me, I pointed to Sakura and coughed, who didn't notice as she was still busy examining her fingernails. Neji hid his laugher.

"So what we did to get rid of them," Ami continued for Kin in a louder voice. ", was _buy_ our way out! Clever, right?"

_Clap, clap, clap!_

Sakura started clapping breaking the silence. "Lovely. Just beautiful, right girls?"

"Right. It takes a hero to buy their way out of a fight. It's truly brave t rip your pride to shreds," Hinata said with a fake smile.

"Bravo," I said, grinning. "Encore. _Siete grasso_."

"TenTen…" Sakura said suddenly.

"What? Isn't that, like, French for 'good job'?"

"It's Italian for 'you're fat'," Hinata said.

"…_Oh_…"

There was a silence, then Sakura and Hinata looked at me.

"Don't take it back."

"Never."

"Wasn't planning to."

Temari laughed even louder, and the three girls fumed.

"Stop mocking us," Tayuya snapped.

"Don't ruin our fun," I said with a pout.

"How is that fun?!"

"Oh suck a dick, Tayuya," Temari said with a grin, and Sakura Hinata and I all laughed.

She glared. "Alright, preferably _my_ Shika-kun's!"

We all stopped laughing and glared right back. "Sick freak," Sakura muttered.

"You probably don't get any sex except rape," I added.

"Oh yeah? Well at least I don't have A-cups!" Sakura, Hinata and I all raised an eyebrow, and she stalked over to Shikamaru, who had glanced at Temari over his laptop, then looked away. She lounged next to him on the arm of the chair, draping an arm around his shoulders. "And at least Shika-kun isn't _yours_, Subaku. At least he's _mine_." Temari turned her head away and stared at her lap, and Tayuya smirked. "Everyone has to betray you, don't they? First he cheats on you for me, then Yamanaka leaves you without a word. Then _those three_ ditch your sorry ass." Sakura and I both grit our teeth. Hinata remained emotionless.

"Poor Temari. You can't trust anyone!" Tayuya cried with sarcastic despair. "Because everyone's done what _I_ wanted. Everyone's _mine_. Right, Shika-kun?" Temari closed her eyes.

"Okay, that is _it_, woman!"

I suddenly stood, slamming my hands on the coffee table. "_Don't_ take your _bitchy attitude_ out on _her_!" I hadn't been this mad in a while.

"We'll show you who's who's," Sakura growled, pounding a fist into the sofa. But Hinata held up a hand to halt us. Sakura and I blinked at her. "Hinata-chan?" Sakura asked.

"He didn't say anything yet," Hinata said with a small smirk.

Sakura and I both looked at Shikamaru, seeing his hand form a fist on his knee, and smirked. I sat down and Tayuya glared at us. "I said, _right_, Shika-kun?" she asked a little louder. Shikamaru still didn't respond. Temari raised her head a bit. Tayuya cleared her throat. "Hee…Shika's just lazy today. He _does _agree with me, though."

"No."

Tayuya blinked. The room went silent. "Huh? What do you mean, Shika-kun?"

"It's over, Tayuya." Shikamaru raised his own head now. "I've never been attracted to you in any way and never will be. In fact, I strongly detest you. I'm sick of how you treat Temari, I'm sick of your annoying voice, I'm sick of having to pretend al the time, I'm fucking sick of _you_. And I'm sick of your stupid blackmailing tricks. I don't care anymore. Get off of me."

Tayuya's mouth fell open as Temari glanced at Shikamaru and asked, "What blackmail?!"

"Shika-kun, what-?!"

"I said get off of me." He shoved Tayuya violently off of the chair and away from him. "And don't call me that."

"Sh-Shika-kun, you don't know what-!"

Sakura and I both glanced at each other and said, "Wrong timing," then burst out laughing.

"That is _it_!" Sakura and I stopped and looked at Tayuya getting to her feet furiously, pointing a quivering finger our way. "I've had enough of you! You want to mess with a gang member, see what happens!"

In a flash her fist was flying directly towards my face, and Naruto was shouting, "Wait!", but her fist hit the sofa back.

I was leaning against Hinata, Sakura leaning against the arm of the sofa, both of us easily avoiding her punch.

"Ne, ne, Hinata, Sakura," I said, waving a hand in the air carelessly. "Do you feel a draft?"

Sakura yawned. "Mhm, a bit of one," she responded lazily.

"You should really close your windows," Hinata said seriously across the room to the three boys, who were staring at us as if they hadn't seen anything like this in a long time. They probably hadn't.

Sakura looked to the side and gave a fake gasp. "Oh, look! TenTen, Hinata, I'm afraid we were mistaken. It seems it's a fist in the sofa that created the breeze."

"Aren't we foolish." Hinata said, making Sakura laugh.

I smirked. "But I have to ask. Why is there a fist embedded where my head used to be?" Tayuya gave a frustrated scream and tried to punch me again. But I was now leaning against Sakura. I pretended to gasp like her. "Uh oh! Looks like she's trying to beat us up!"

"You two know what that means, then," Hinata said, smiling.

Sakura and I smirked and straightened up as Tayuya drew her fist back again and tried once more to punch one of us. But this time, her fist came in contact with Sakura's palm.

Sakura sighed, then went deadpan.

"Don't even try, hunny," she said darkly.

I nodded. "We have three things to tell you," I said, holding up a finger. "Number one; Insult us or someone we care about, and there's a very high chance some part of your body will be bleeding soon enough."

"Number two;" Sakura said, and I held up one more finger. "Injure or attempt to kill one of us or someone we care about, and…" Sakura suddenly closed her fingers around Tayuya's fist and began to crush it in her hand. "Not only will we make your pathetic life a living hell, but you're gonna wish you were in the real hell." Tayuya gasped in pain, but Sakura did not let go.

Hinata sat forward in her seat. "And finally, Number Three; None of us are A-cups. TenTen and Sakura are both B-cups. And _I'm_ a _C-cup_."

I grinned when I spotted something under Tayuya's shirt, revealing a little too much as she bent over. "Speaking of that…" I reached into the shirt and plucked out two crunched up balls of paper towel. "Surprise, surprise!"

"Snowballs," Hinata joked.

"Fun on winter days," Sakura said as if she were in a commercial.

Temari burst out laughing. "I knew she stuffed!" she cried, pointing. "Pathetic slut!"

Tayuya gasped as I grinned, displaying her fake breasts easily. "You..!" she cried.

"Us…?" Sakura responded with a smile.

Ami turned. "Sasuke-kun, would you stop them?! They're ruining everything!" she cried.

Sasuke was, however, hiding his face in Neji's shoulder to prevent himself from laughing. "Not really," he snorted as Naruto roared with laughter and Neji sniggered behind a hand.

"Gah!" Kin screamed in frustration. "You three come and look what happens! You want me to kill you girls?!"

"Oh, I'm scared!" I cried. "Temari, hold me!"

"Nah, I'd rather run for it," Temari said with a grin.

Sakura and Hinata laughed as I said, "Traitor!", pointing dramatically at her.

"Shut up!" Kin suddenly pulled out a gun and pointed it at me. I only smiled and waved at her.

Now, Hinata sat forward, examining the gun. "That looks quite expensive. Definitely something I'd expect from someone who gets all their money from their father."

Temari blinked. "Eh? They said they don't have fathers!"

Ami stared at Hinata. "H…How do you know…?" she whispered in horror as Tayuya finally got herself away from Sakura and attempted to cover her sagging shirt.

Hearing this, Temari practically _beamed_.

"Ami! You're giving it away!" Kin shrieked.

Hinata smiled slyly. "Oh. I'm sorry, we didn't know it was a secret. We didn't know we weren't supposed to say that you three are only in Karin's gang because of favors you did for her. We didn't know it was a secret your fathers are connected by a very wealthy chain of businesses. We didn't know it was a secret that you only know how to bitch fight and use guns that your rich fathers buy for you, and that you actually have no fighting talent whatsoever. We didn't know it was a secret that your fathers bought off that ice rink that you used to stay in, the place that you called 'abandoned' and handed to Karin, and that instead of sleeping in it every night, you went home to a nice cozy _mansion_. We didn't know it was a secret you're only using the gang business to get to 'your boys' and to kill any other girls that interfere." Hinata crossed her arms. "We knew. But we didn't know it was a secret."

Kin, Ami and Tayuya were stunned. "Wh…How did you…?" They were beyond proper speech. "How…?"

"It's called the _internet_," I said loudly. "Where it's easy if you're talented, like Hinata-chan and Shikamaru here, to figure things out. Just like how Hinata-chan found out how you, Tayuya, were the one that tipped Orochimaru off about Karin in the first place."

"What?!" Sasuke asked quickly, head snapping up. "You're…working with Orochimaru?!"

Tayuya's eyes widened. "H-How…?!"

"That's the reason Karin got raped when she was so young and Orochimaru was still here," Sakura said darkly. "And the reason this whole gang started. Because you, Tayuya, decided you'd get Karin raped, and when you were one of the first to comfort her, you'd get a good spot in the gang, also getting a chance to get near Shikamaru."

"When you realized he was already going out with someone, you decided to make another plan; blackmail him," I said. Temari was staring at Shikamaru now, who was watching Sakura Hinata and I with narrowed eyes. "You put him through so much, he got to the point that he actually believed you'd hurt Temari, or even kill her, so he had to break up with her and go out with you like he said." I smirked. "Too bad it didn't exactly go the romantic way, huh?"

"W-Well, what makes you think he still wants _her_?! No one wants her!" Tayuya shrieked.

I smirked. "Well, first of all, if we didn't want to be friends with Temari, we wouldn't have come back." Tayuya's eyes widened, Temari glanced at me. "Second of all, I heard it with my own ears."

"Heard _what_?" Tayuya asked impatiently.

"Shikamaru admit it."

"…Admit…?"

I sighed. "He said he still loves her!" I snapped. Shikamaru and Temari both stared at me, along with the rest of the room as I stood and put a hand to the coffee table again, glaring right at Tayuya. "And he fucking _meant _it! But you just have to come waltzing in like a ballerina and ruin it for them!"

"It's sick," Hinata said simply. "But it's over."

Tayuya was staring at me like she'd never seen me before. Temari and Shikamaru both seemed shocked.

Kin gave a light scream again. "Alright, that's enough! Sasuke-kun, do you want to be alliances with our gang anymore or not?!"

Sasuke looked up. "Why…?"

"Because it's either us or them!" Kin put her hands on her hips. "Kick them out, or we cut ties with you!"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that Karin's decision?" Kin faltered, and Sasuke went on. "Besides, I don't think there's any conflict with the choices."

"Wh…What do you mean…?"

"I mean that as talented as Karin and her team is, you three kinda annoy the hell out of me." Sasuke yawned and stretched. "These guys would be the ones for sure." Sakura stared at Sasuke with a smile as I grinned and Hinata giggled. "Unfortunately, I'll just have to ask Karin later if she can kick you guys out. Just a small favor for me, I'm sure with some convincing from Temari and these three she'll do it soon enough."

"So yeah, consider yourselves out," Neji translated simply.

Kin was out the door in a second, and Ami and Tayuya ran out after her, all three wordless, but obviously worried about Sasuke's words.

"Hey, don't forget these!" I called, jeering as I threw the pair of crumple paper towels at their heads.

When the door slammed shut, I grinned.

"Up top!" I said, holding out my hands for both girls on either side of me to laugh and slap mockingly.

"Okay, that's final." Temari lay back against the coffee table, sighing with a content smile as she stared at the ceiling. "This is the best day of my life."

"After half a year of them, we thought you deserved it," Hinata said, giggling.

"It's surprising how creative you can be when you're a bitch," I said happily.

"And…it doesn't mean it has to be the only good day you'll ever have…" Sakura said tentatively.

Temari's head snapped up. "…Are you guys sayin' what I think you are…?"

Naruto jumped to his feet. "You're joining?!"

I glanced at Sakura and Hinata, then turned and nodded. "Yeah, we'll come back. We don't want Temari to suffer no more."

"Only if you'll have us," Sakura added softly.

They stared at us for a while, then Sasuke said blankly, "Are you joking?"

"Of course we will!" Naruto shouted with a grin. "Finally!"

"Idiots, you thought we'd turn you down?" Neji said with a raised eyebrow.

"This is getting even better!" Temari cried, sitting up and laughing in pure joy. I noticed Shikamaru staring at her, and I smiled a bit. It wasn't over yet, I could tell. He was going to make it _impossibly_ better.

"Well, actually…" Sasuke said suddenly, raising a hand. "You're not in yet."

"Eh…?" I asked, everyone stopping their celebrating briefly.

He sighed. "Well, due to recent security efforts-"

"Just efforts?"

"Shut up, TenTen."

"Fuck you, Sasuke."

"Ah, I missed this. Please continue, TenTen."

"Gladly, Neji."

"Neji, TenTen, I said _shut up_! As I was saying, due to recent security efforts, all gangs have had to hold a challenge to get new members in. Lee and Kiba dropped out of the gang to join Kankerou's as regular members, so we definitely need you guys. But I have to do this…"

"A challenge?" I asked with a smirk. "Piece o' cake! We can do anything, right?!"

"Not everything…but some things," Sakura said, rolling her eyes.

"What's the challenge…?" Hinata asked.

Sasuke shrugged. "Dunno. We're supposed to come up with that." He suddenly turned to Temari. "Since you're playing a big part in this, Temari, and since you didn't go back on your word back there, if you remember…you can pick."

"Me?" Temari pointed to herself, seeming honored.

He smiled, nodding. "Go ahead."

She beamed. "Wow!" She turned around and stared at us, and we fidgeted under her gaze; it was pretty harsh. But she smirked. "I have the perfect challenge for you."

"What is it?" Hinata asked again.

"If you complete it," Temari said, not answering her question. ", you'll be allowed in the gang again. If you don't, you'll never come back."

I gulped; definitely not a time to mess up. "What do we have to do?" Hinata repeated.

Temari smiled.

"Bring back Ino, and you're in forever. Fail, you'll never see us again."

**X**X**X**X**X**

So yeah, a couple of people want me to read their stories. Unfortunately, there's a high chance I won't because of a certain little issue called ShikaIno. You write it, I won't read or review anything from you. I'm sorry to be so blunt, but I just can't stomach it like I used to. ):  
On the bright side, they're still not back. But we're one step closer. XD By the way, I changed the summary _again_. I know, I've already changed it, like, three times. But I like this the best, so I'm pretty sure it'll stick. Promise. (; Review please? (:  
Re-Read & Edited while listening to: _Smile Like You Mean It _by _The Killers_. :D  
thanks for reading!  
xmarachanx


	30. TenTen's Flight

Hey guys! This is a REALLY long chapter, so let's make this quick. THANKS:  
123PIKACHU, Midnight Freesia, StrawberrySmoothie99, Maya-chan2007, Nerd4eva, Chigiri Sasaki, Sasu-Saku-cherryblossom, Ukyou-Taisuke, Dreaming101, The Laughing Phoenix, cherryluver19, turtlechick, Hikoru Aniki, xLanalishax, waterdragonrai, RisingTwinDragons93, Tilders, Tobi-obsessed, Pnkrockninja101, kimiko77, AnimeLover325, LyricGirl16, Black Blood Blossom, Youkai Koneko, yeji301, xXkickass-kunoichiXx, iSakura-Uchiha, XxkikiroxX, MidniteCurse4Eternity, mangamaniacgurl, jolteonforever, Metal-Blondie, The Sound Of Thunder, UcHiHaHyUuGa, Ichigo and Sora  
**It's set in stone, everyone: TENTEN'S THEME SONG: **_**All Star**_** by **_**Smash Mouth**_**. SAKURA'S THEME SONG: **_**You've Made Us Conscious**_** by **_**The Audition**_**. HINATA'S THEME SONG: **_**We Believe **_**by **_**Good Charlotte**_**.**  
Enjoy!

**X**X**X**X**X**

**H**e**a**r **N**o **E**v**i**l_  
See no evil. Speak no evil._

**D**i**s**c**l**a**i**m**e**r: Oh emm eff gee, I don't own Naruto. :)  
**S**o**n**g: _Time Hollow_ by _Masanori Akita_

C**h**. **T**h**i**r**t**y **T**h**r**e**e – **TenTen's Flight

_I open my eyes to another day  
To things that I have known, things that happen everyday  
I feel there's a shadow creeping up on me  
The wind blows through the streets  
Telling me something I don't see_

**T**e**n**T**e**n

"…Wow…"

I couldn't believe Hinata was even bothering. But, accented by Sasuke's previous outburst, we all stared, stunned, as Hinata was doing it anyways.

She crossed through the room and heaved a sigh, taking a short break, leaning over on the tall handle of the mop she was carrying, pulling back the bandana on her hair to wipe the perspiration on her brow.

We'd all traded out of our bloody outfits and into more suitable clothes from Temari's closet, which she was ecstatic (and slightly forceful) to share with us. They were also more comfortable, as Sakura insisted I try to relax as much as possible as I'd already lost too much blood for her liking. I wore a tight white tee-shirt with a green smiley face on the front, and jean shorts, and that was it. Sakura had on a white tank (showing her bra-straps, a point I couldn't help but make clear) and jeans, and Hinata wore tight black leggings and a low blue tee-shirt. Temari was dressed out of her own ruined clothes and into a red tube top and jeans, and she was currently sitting next to me, watching as Hinata walked about instructing Sakura where and how to help her clean, dubbing the rest of us useless in the subject quite bluntly.

Yes, they were actually cleaning. Again. It was like we were starting over from the beginning, Sakura trying to teach us how to use proper grammar (and manners, she was constantly having to push the boys' feet off the coffee table), and Hinata tidying up the house as best as she could, which was actually quite well. Already, after only a couple minutes and with the small assistance of Sakura, the living room looked like it belonged to a very neat pair of college roommates. I didn't doubt the rest of the house was gradually getting to look like this as well.

"Well, there's something sticky on the wall in Temari's bedroom…" Sakura announced as she re-entered the room, putting her hands on her hips and glaring at the boys. "What is it?"

"Eh?" Temari glared at the boys. "Naruto, what did you do to my room?!"

"Oh, haha…Um, I was playing around with Sasuke in there and we kinda spilled pop on the wall."

"Well you should have cleaned it up!" Sakura cried. "Temari, honestly, how did you live with these pigs?!"

"I gave up on trying to teach them how to clean," Temari said with a shrug. "It's predictable, really. Neji leaves his clothes everywhere-"

"Because I find no need to fold them , they'll only get straightened out again," Neji interrupted her with a frown, looking up from the knife he was picking something off of, something I really didn't want to know about.

"And Sasuke breaks stuff-"

"When I'm mad, I'm mad, alright?!"

"And Naruto spills food all over the place-" Temari paused and glanced at Naruto, who was completely silent. "What, no excuse?"

"…Um…" Naruto fiddled with a strand of his shiny blonde hair. "No."

The rest of us all groaned a little inwardly, and I sighed, glancing up at the ceiling.

Tomorrow was the day to go get Ino. We'd spend the night here, as I was considered 'recovery material', in Sasuke's not-so-meticulous words, and tomorrow we'd be driven straight to Sai's hideout, observed by everyone in the gang through technological means Shikamaru had yet to fully explain to us, only letting us know that it consisted of the satellite videos, and walkie-talkie type devices that he explained were 'headsets'. Which would definitely be a source of my fidgeting, as I found anything close to FBI material _completely awesome_!

"My arm hurts…" I complained moodily as Sakura and Hinata exited the room.

"Sakura said it'll feel better by tomorrow with the stuff she gave you," Temari said reasonably from my side. "I'm sure you'll be able to fight with it."

"I hope I can fight with it. I haven't gotten anything this bad in…" I looked back down. "Well, forever!"

"Yeah, yeah, Blood Bracelet's pretty harsh," Temari said with a shrug. "They must've really hated you, huh?"

"Well, I blew up their ceiling, made two of their full grown men run away, and knocked out one of their guards before they came in," I said proudly with a grin. "_Then_ I started messin' with em, which was fun."

"It's like you're specialty," Naruto said, laughing.

Temari sighed, shaking her head. "You're one piece o' work, TenTen. And you bug the hell out of me. But you're awesome."

I laughed and leaned back so I was lying sideways on the sofa. "_And_ I'm tired."

"I would be too," Temari said, standing. "Go to sleep in my room if you're gonna go to sleep. It's only five in the afternoon, but you've had a tough couple o' days."

I sat up, shaking my head immediately. "I can't sleep without eating, no matter how tired I am or how much I don't wanna eat! I haven't eaten in two days, and Sakura said that'll make blood come out your mouth non-stop!" Hinata was entering the room when she heard that, and she groaned. I glanced at her. "…What…?"

"TenTen…that was a lie."

I stared at her for a while.

"I believe you."

"Mhm." Hinata moved on, crossing into the kitchen, and closed the door, leaving the rest of us in a pitiful silence.

"What are you gonna do first? Kill Sakura, or sleep?"

"Sleep. Sakura-killing comes tomorrow."

"Ah. Goodnight, TenTen."

"Goodnight, Temari."

"Hm? Going to sleep, Ten-chan?"

"Fuck you, Sakura."

"…What did I do…?"

**S**a**k**u**r**a

It was about eight at night when Hinata announced to the entire living room of us (I had abandoned cleaning long ago, finding it a little too tedious for my liking and deciding to fill myself in on what the others had been up to overall) that the cleaning was finally done, and the kitchen was officially named 'safe to walk in'.

I sighed in relief. "Thank you, Hinata-chan!" I cried. "_Someone_ had to clean this place up!"

"Hey, I tried, man, but they're just impossible to train," Temari said, holding up a hand defensively. "Without you three here, of course, it'll be easier. Well, maybe TenTen makes it a tad harder, but you two for sure can clean this place up in a heartbeat."

I smiled proudly. "Thank you." I watched as Hinata tore her bandana off, threw it away in the garbage can (there were already fifteen bags of garbage piled on the curb in front of the house, the garbage truck workers would be appalled Sunday morning), and promptly slumped on the sofa next to me. The two of us were obviously exhausted, leaning back into the sofa, and Temari glanced at us as she sat on the coffee table.

"Why don't you guys go join TenTen?" she asked. "My room's open, I don't mind sleeping out here, or in the basement, now that it's all clean. In fact, I'd like a change."

"We can't go to sleep, no…" I mumbled, shaking my head groggily.

Hinata nodded. "Right…" She interrupted herself with a cute yawn, and then continued. "We…have to go over more information, right? We have to…figure everything out."

"No details left," I agreed.

Temari smiled and stood. "Listen. We know you guys are unsettled about being here, after everything that happened half a year ago."

"And probably scared, too," Sasuke added. ", after what happened today, and yesterday, and what's been happening to you for the past couple weeks."

"But we're always open," Naruto threw in his in-put. "To all of you. No matter what. You helped us, and we help you. It's only fair, to return the favor, ya know?"

I stared at them. "But…the information…"

"You have all day tomorrow," Neji said, shrugging as he cleaned off one of his many knives, of which he was piling up by the tens on the coffee table in front of him. "And the next day, and the next…"

"Go to sleep, relax," Temari said gently. "We'll be here to make sure nothing happens. To _any_ of you."

Sasuke nodded firmly. "It's about time you don't have to think about anything but rest, isn't it?"

Hinata was the first to stand, grabbing my hand firmly and pulling me up with her. She turned to Temari and gave her a smile.

"Thanks."

Temari nodded. "Go on, get your asses to bed. Oh, and we'll be out here all night, so you don't have to worry about a thing, got it? Just sleep."

I nodded and the two of us walked, as if we were in a dream, to Temari's bedroom, opening the door and closing it behind us, staggering numbly to the bed where TenTen lay against the wall.

When we both sat down, slouching over each other sleepily, she woke up after a while and gasped, sitting straight up.

It was like a reaction for her now when she woke in the middle of the night. Worry. Fear that someone might be here, hurting one of us.

But I was sure to give her a comforting smile. "It's okay, TenTen. It's just us."

She sighed, breathing deeply, and she winced. "My arm…"

"It's alright." I put a hand to her arm. "It'll feel better tomorrow, I promise. All…" I felt tears sting my eyes for some reason, and I tried to hold them back, but they fell anyways when I heard Hinata crying behind me. Why were we crying?! "All you need to do…" I sobbed, "…is sleep. It's okay, now…"

TenTen was staring at us, bewildered, in pain.

And finally, she relaxed.

She let her own tears fall, silver and wet, down her cheeks, and she took each of our hands, wriggling around so she was in between us, and lay down, letting us fall on our own backs next to her.

Hand in hand, tears staining our faces, we fell asleep for the first time in a while with smiles on our faces.

I tightened my hand in TenTen's. '_They're my best friends, my sisters. We've been through everything together. The three of us, just the three of us. But we failed to realize that maybe there are some other hands to hold._' I sighed in relief. '_Finally, I guess we understand; we can still be together, when we're with other people. So…this is where we're meant to be._'

I smiled through my agony.

'_We're home._'

**H**i**n**a**t**a

The first thing I did when I woke up was wonder if it had all been a dream.

The next thing I did, was wonder if I wanted it to be a dream or not.

The third thing I did, was inwardly curse myself for even thinking that.

Of course I didn't.

And fortunately enough for me, or maybe unfortunately, the first thing that _happened_ to me was a loud noise.

"Get up, come on! Up, up, all three of you, now!"

Sakura TenTen and I all sat up straight in Temari's bed and stared at a tiny brunette at the foot of the bed, clapping her hands with an excited grin on her face. I could see the others standing behind her, watching us.

"…You _kidnapped_ us…?" Sakura asked stupidly.

"I swear, whatever I broke, I'll pay for it, okay?! And I didn't mean to make that one girl _cry_, she was just pissing me off, she deserved it!" TenTen said quickly, holding up her hands.

Matsuri gave the two a look, it came back to both of them in an instant, and TenTen immediately jumped out of bed and cried welcomingly, "Matsuri!"

"TenTen-chan!" She ran over and the two hugged ecstatically.

"What the _hell_ kind of wakeup-call was that?!" Sakura roared at them furiously as I straightened out my hair diligently.

"We didn't invite her in," Temari said. "I texted her saying you were here, and she kinda just came over."

"I missed you and your crazy freakish personality!" TenTen cried happily from Matsuri's arms.

"And I missed you and your idiotic little head!" she returned the complimenting-insult with a dramatic hand to her heart. She glanced at Sakura and I and beamed. "And you two look the same too! Of course all three of you are still _adorable_!"

TenTen smiled as the two let each other go. "So what's for breakfast?"

Everyone immediately turned to look at me, and I visibly cringed.

'_Great…_'

**x**x**x**x**x**

After a breakfast of toaster waffles I had found in a box in the freezer which I had just saved before they'd reached my predicted expiration date for them, a breakfast in which TenTen declared was like a bite of heaven (she hadn't eaten in two days, it was a wonder she wasn't _in_ heaven), and a breakfast of which was eaten hurriedly in the living room, much to our distaste, Temari and Matsuri forced us to take showers each, which we admitted we really needed, seeing the blood caked on our arms and legs.

Now, we were back at our own house. The others were waiting in the living room (most of them were walking around claiming that they hadn't been here in so long and wanted to 'explore', which pretty much meant very nearly breaking everything), as we dressed in the bedroom and prepared for our 'challenge'.

My hair was down, and silky after the shower. I wore a white and lavender zip-up jacket with a black tee-shirt underneath it, the sleeves white and the rest, along with the cuffs, lavender, jeans, and black flats. I had my one gun hidden in my jacket pocket. I was pretty much ready. I would be reading out the directions to the other two through the headsets Shikamaru would provide us with.

Sakura was dressed in a pink three-inch-strapped tank over a khaki skirt and black leggings that only went down to mid-thigh. On her feet were knee-high black boots with a heel on them. Her medical supplies were in the two front pockets of her skirt, also in the bag she carried that matched her skirt were the necessities for a bomb. And she'd snapped black gloves onto each of her hands.

TenTen, of course, was preparing a bit more. She wore a Chinese-collared white shirt, the collar red and swooping over her chest to gather in a gold setting at the side. The sleeves went down to her elbows and ended in thick and wide red ribbon for cuffs, matching the collar. Under that she had on white jean shorts that ended high, rolled up at the end, and beneath that, knee-high white boots which were folded over at the top to reveal the red ribbon inner. She had a knife strapped to her thigh, a large gun she'd borrowed from Matsuri slung over her shoulder, and a gun in each front pocket of her jeans and a knife in each back pocket of her jeans. Her hair was pulled up all the way in two buns.

I sighed, waiting with TenTen as Sakura ran her hand through her new short hair. She'd cut it more evenly in the bathroom. When TenTen and I asked her why she'd cut her hair, she explained how she thought it would look better, would give her more individuality, and help her when she was fighting.

Now, I shared a look with the other two, and opened the door into the living room.

"Heh. Look at you guys!" Matsuri said with a grin.

"Why are you even here?" Sakura muttered, giving her a dark look; she was blushing from the compliment, obviously not enjoying being complimented so much yet.

"Hey, you think I'd miss this?!" Matsuri asked, slinging an arm around TenTen's shoulders. "We're gettin' my Ino back! We used to room together and everything, me and Ino, remember? I'm not going to sit around doing nothing while you guys are getting her back! Oh, and good job, Temari!"

Temari grinned and shared a thumbs up with Matsuri across the room. "Smart, right? I just thought of it on the spot. I think it's the perfect test for them."

I couldn't help but agree as she spun her car keys on her finger. It _was_ the perfect test, because it was going to be hard. We'd been failing recently, Sakura TenTen and I. The girls we were supposed to be saving were slipping through our fingers, dying like some sort of worthless property under our noses. When separated, we were helpless. Everything was falling apart, and we couldn't fight to our full potential with so many things on our minds. And now, trying to get Ino back while breaking into the hideout of what we remembered to be the most ruthless gang in the teenage world…

It was impossible.

And sad as it was, I couldn't help but know the truth.

We would fail.

And we would fall apart, piece by piece, until all that remained of us, all that we were turned into, were three, simple, empty vessels for hatred, anger, and nostalgia…

**T**e**n**T**e**n

Sai's hideout was a tall parking structure, the windows and openings all blocked by wood, insulated by a power grid outside guarded by a chain link fence that stretched as tall as a base-ball field. I had heard about the size of Sai's gang; it was supposedly enormous, the hideout a gigantic prison cell full of teens walking about. They were organized, although bloodthirsty and violent, and they had no mercy. They'd kill, or keep for questioning. No hesitation. That was how he trained them.

Amazing as it was, it kinda scared me, and as I sat in the backseat of the car I hadn't been inside of in so long (Hinata claimed she felt queasy, and Sakura kept complaining about how she didn't miss Temari's insane driving at all), I couldn't help but second-guess myself, like I knew Hinata and Sakura were doing next to me, because they were getting paler by the second.

When we were in the gang before, we hadn't visited Sai's hideout at any time, we'd just heard about it. I guess I'd underestimated it.

It was huge. It was well-guarded. It was intimidating.

And it was impossible to break into.

I tried not to let Neji see me scared, and I breathed out slowly as Shikamaru propped the trunk open. The laptop was set up, wires connected to speakers. He'd handed us, already, our headsets, small black sets that we stuck in our ears and placed near our mouths. They'd be fed and sound through the speakers attached to the laptop.

Well, _they_ were all set up…

As if she was reading my mind, as we all got out of the car into the brightly lit street out front, Temari said, "So you guys have a plan?"

"Well, not really…" I said, keeping my voice steady. We all stood in front of the trunk, Shikamaru sitting and yawning next to the laptop. "But we tend to…what's the word I'm lookin' for…"

"Improvise," Sakura said for me, and I nodded. Sakura sighed, glancing at me. "Um…when do we start?"

"Hold on just a second," Shikamaru said, and he pressed a button on the laptop. Immediately four windows opened up. The first was just a view of the structure. The other three were the same scene, Sakura Hinata and I standing with the others.

"Haha, cool!" I said immediately with a grin. "It's like I'm on TV!"

"Alright, then, two three," Sasuke spoke up, sitting on the other side of the laptop in the open trunk and clapping his hands together once. "You're clear on the rules, right? None of us can interfere, even in life or death situations. If you fail to bring Ino back permanently to this gang, you're forbidden on joining us again. Once Ino's back here, she's permanently in the gang, but you three will still have to go through the new re-entry process which will be explained later _if_ you succeed."

The three of us nodded, although I took a while to register all of that, and Sasuke sighed. He looked us all over, eyes lingering on Sakura (I gave him a furious glare to make him stop that), and he sighed. "Listen…you've all improved, but you know this is gonna be hard, right?" We nodded again, and he nodded grimly as well. He glanced at Temari, who just stood there, stoic. All business she was, as usual. "I wish…the rules weren't like this…" he muttered.

"Hey, stop being so pessimistic."

We all stared at Neji, and I knew we were all thinking the same thing; '_You're one to talk…_'

"Neji's right!" Naruto, however, was reasonably the same, and he jumped in front of Sasuke with a grin that made it look like the sun was living on earth with the rest of us. "You're all great! We've been watching you, for a long time now, and I realized something; even though you're not, like, _awesome_, you guys never give up! And you're, uh…what's that word, Neji?"

"Determined."

"Determined! Right! You're fucking determined! _Yeah_!" He punched a fist in the air enthusiastically, and Shikamaru and Sasuke rolled their eyes as Neji shook his head and pulled Naruto back piteously.

But the three of us watching him were struck by that.

As strange as he'd said it, he was right. We had gotten through everything thrown at us before. Now, it was time to show them what we could be _without_ their help.

"Okay!" I grinned and pulled out two of my guns, letting them twirl in each of my hands before holding them steady. The three of us faced the hideout. "You guys ready to kick some ass?!"

"Ready when you are," Sakura said with a smirk, snapping her gloves on her wrists.

"Definitely," Hinata said with a small giggle, and she clasped her hands together. "Now listen closely, I have a plan." She nodded to the electrical device behind us in the open trunk. "I'll be standing there the whole time tuning into the headset to observe you and give you more detailed directions as the plan unfolds. I'll also be used as backup if you need it."

She turned back to the hideout and pointed to the entrance calmly. "Sakura, you'll take the door. TenTen, you cover her. When it's open, TenTen will distract any guards until you, Sakura, are inside and clear. When you are, you'll contact TenTen through the headset. TenTen, when she does that, you'll go in and you'll find Ino. She should be in her reserved room, which looks like it would be in one of the upper stories, or possibly the lounge, which could be in the same location or even on top of the actual structure itself. Meanwhile Sakura, you'll plant a bomb in the lowest level, which will start with smoke, to cause even further distraction to the lower level guards who will make disabling it their main priority. Hopefully you'll get out in time, and you'll make your way back here. TenTen will find Ino and bring her back as quickly as possible before the bomb goes off. Are you with me so far?"

"Hai," we both said with a nod. I could tell the others behind us were stunned, but we were used to Hinata making things like that up on the spot.

She nodded as well. "Remember it will probably be harder than I make it sound, so be wary at all times. These people aren't pushovers."

"We figured," Sakura agreed, a hand on her hip as she scrutinized the scene.

"We'll keep our eyes out for the suckers," I said with a grin.

Hinata smiled. "Don't expect to get out unharmed."

"Never do," Sakura and I chanted at the same time, both smirking.

"Good. Are you ready?"

"Hai."

"Go."

And we were off, walking as calmly as we could towards the hideout. I hadn't felt this exhilarated in a while. And I knew Naruto's words were giving Hinata more strength than before, because I noticed, as I looked over my shoulder one more time, the smile on her face as she walked back to the computer and clasping her hands behind her back, watching the screen as the others backed out of the way to observe us. I also saw Neji's gaze, which I took strength from.

No way was I going to act like some stranger.

No way was this place going to change me into someone I wasn't.

"Hey Sakura," I said as the two of us walked side by side, knowing the others could all see and hear us easily from the laptop.

"What is i-OOF!"

I laughed as she recoiled from the light punch I gave to her stomach, the wind knocked out of her. "Beat ya there!"

I _was_ TenTen, after all.

"YOU LITTLE _BITCH_!"

I never walked into a fight without a good entrance.

**H**i**n**a**t**a

"Whatthe hell are they _doing_?!" Sasuke cried out loud, staring at the two running towards the hideout, laughing and shouting and pushing each other over.

"Wow…I take it back. They suck," Temari said, sighing and shaking her head.

They all watched them race towards the hideout on the screen of the laptop, wondering almost in awe about the lengths of stupidity.

"I think TenTen's trying to lighten the mood…" Naruto gathered.

"And Sakura's just reacting to it…" Neji agreed, shaking his head.

I, however, knew what was going on and frowned at them. "You don't understand," I said, narrowing my eyes. "TenTen's coming up with a _tactic_."

"What?" Shikamaru asked, raising an eyebrow. "What the hell kinda tactic is that?"

"Well…" I sighed, placing it for them simply. "You remember how Sakura acts when she's really, _really_ mad?"

It was silent as it sunk in.

"TenTen's a fucking genius."

"Yeah."

"Totally."

"Always thought so."

"I agree."

"You get it now," I said exasperatedly as I turned back to the screen. I pressed the microphone on my headset to turn it on. "TenTen, Sakura, you can hear me, right?"

"Loud and-_Oww_, Sakura, stop _shoving_!"

"_You_ stop _running_! Um, we can hear ya, Hina-chan!"

Their voices came through my headset and the speakers on the laptop. I nodded. "Alright, good." I observed them slowing to catch their breaths to a walk, approaching the entrance unnoticed. "They don't know you're there. But they will as soon as you get inside. So here's what you have to do." They stopped on the screen. "Sakura, you'll break the door down-"

"HUH?!"

Interrupted by Temari, Naruto, and Sasuke, I turned to give them a scolding look, and they quieted, but stared at me incredulously. I had no time to answer questions, however, and I turned around once again to the screen. "Once you break it down, TenTen, you'll distract anyone immediately inside so Sakura can get into the first level. Once she gives the word that it's all clear, you'll take care of them and listen for more direct orders from there." I sighed. "It'll be a tough fight, so please do your best."

"Of course."

"Got it."

"Alright. Sakura, can you handle it?"

"It's just a big piece o' wood, and I've got my breath back." I saw on the screen Sakura breath out slowly, closing her eyes to relax herself, and TenTen backing away, twirling both of her guns in her hands.

Then, Sakura's eyes snapped open.

She was at the door, full speed, in a manner of seconds, one fist being drawn behind her as she went, and as soon as she was in range, she jumped, propelling forward, and slammed into the wood.

"_HELL_ YEAH!"

I could almost feel the shock flowing off of the others as they gaped at the scene.

She was thrown backwards from the momentum, and skidded unharmed to a halt in the dirt, watching with care the very tall block of wide wood crack and slowly fall to the ground, admitting entrance to the cement domain like a wooden mouth gaping open, hungry for blood.

"She…just broke a fucking _door_ down," was all Temari could say as the dust almost prevented the camera from picking the two girls up. "And what did she say, what did she just say? Did she say '_Hell yeah!"_, or did I misunderstand her?"

"Alright. The wall's down." We could hear Sakura's panting through the speakers; it had taken a lot of effort out of her. "So now we-?"

_BANG!_

I tightened my grip on the edge of the trunk, but there was no need to fear; the gunshot had missed TenTen, who avoided it with a simple walk forward. She smirked and held up both her guns. "So now we kick ass!" she finished Sakura's sentence for her as if it was obvious. Sakura just laughed weakly.

A second later two boys walked on out of the destroyed wall, each with unexpectedly large machine guns that I could hear Temari groan at in envy ("I _want_ those!"), and Sakura backed up, letting TenTen cross in front of her. One of them was overweight and tall, with frizzy hair, dressed in a crimson tee shirt and jeans. The other had shaggy black hair and dark tinted glasses, and wore a sea-foam-green jacket over dress pants.

"Ah, Chouji and Shino," I heard Neji say from behind me. "I fought them before. Real nice guys. Just don't call Chouji fat…"

"Should you be saying stuff like that about them in this situation, Hyuuga…?"

"Hey, I suggest…um…" TenTen frowned on screen. "Get out o' the way!" she said instead.

Chouji, the overweight one so I suspected it was him, smirked. "Cute. You're standing up for yourself. Aren't you TenTen?"

TenTen blinked. "…How do you know my name…?"

"Please, you're practically famous in Konoha." Chouji held up his gun, pointing it delicately at her. "It's an honor to kill you."

She jumped out of the way of a bullet and immediately fired her two rifles. Shino dodged easily, Chouji barely got away from a few bullets. TenTen ran to the side, Sakura slowly edging to the side.

Chouji noticed what their intentions were, and he narrowed his eyes. "Shino, don't let the pink one get inside!" he yelled, the two fully concentrated on Sakura.

But she just smirked as they raised their guns in her direction. "That's just what we want," she said, and in a second Shino dropped to the ground, crying out in pain.

Chouji turned back, shocked, to see TenTen standing with her gun pointed right at them. He looked down at Shino. "Shino, what the hell-?!"

"_Damn_ it!" Shino roared as he bled from the shoulder. "Chouji, _watch the door_!"

"Too late!" TenTen sang, and she shot twice at Chouji, who dodged both shots both times. We saw Sakura running inside.

"Sakura, make sure there's no one inside," I said into the headset. We watched the camera for Sakura's window to flick into the hideout. It was just the first story of the parking structure, and obviously they'd used it for cars, which were about seven, parked along the spots. There were also a few sofa's, televisions, and speaker systems, so it was more of a lounge. No one was there, fortunately, probably busy upstairs.

"It's clear," Sakura verified.

"Alright. TenTen, dodge the other two and get in their quickly. Sakura, you hide and find a nice place to start the bomb."

"Got it," they both said, TenTen panting a little as she was still dodging Chouji.

Sakura ran behind a sofa, a perfect spot, and TenTen ran around Chouji and the wounded Shino, shooting once more over her shoulder at him just for good measure, and ran into the hideout, dust and small pieces of wood hailing down on her.

"So she's probably in one of the upper stories, right?" TenTen asked breathlessly, looking around.

"Yes, most likely," I replied. "That's probably where all the bedrooms are as well. So just follow the ramp up. Sakura, how's the bomb going?"

"Not too hard, the parts just have to be assembled, but it'll be easy to start once it's actually assembled."

"Alright. It won't take too long?"

"Nope. The timer will take about five minutes for it to actually go off, and it'll take three minutes, approximated here, to assemble, so TenTen, you have eight minutes to find Ino and get out of here, or you're pretty much screwed."

"Thanks, Sakura, glad to know there's no pressure."

"Just hurry, both of you," I ordered as TenTen ran. They increased speed, TenTen traveling up to the second story and hiding behind a block of wood.

"Can you see anyone, Hinata?" she whispered into the microphone, checking a gun and trying not to be seen around the corner.

"No, you have to turn the corner for the camera to switch, it seems. It's attached to your cell phone," I said.

TenTen smirked. "Well, then, we'll just have to use that."

"What?!" I asked, surprised by her rashness as she removed her cell phone and threw it around the corner where it landed with a clack. The camera switched, however, and I saw a couple people there.

"TenTen, there's five of them!" I said quickly.

"Got it." She suddenly whipped around the corner in full view of them, who had turned to stare at the mystery cell phone.

"What are you doing?!" I cried as she slipped it into her pocket again and faced them, her guns in her pockets.

"Improvising," she admitted sheepishly into the headset, her voice hushed so the members that got to their feet, staring at her, couldn't hear.

"Oi, what the hell are you doing?" one of them, a dark haired boy, demanded. They had been sitting on the ground in a circle with a large map out in front of them on the ground, and now the one that spoke picked up the map and folded it into his pocket.

TenTen shrugged. "I'm here to distract and or injure people like you while I get Ino Yamanaka out so we can force her back into Uchiha's gang so Sakura Hinata and I can join again so we don't get our asses kicked by Orochimaru's men," she said very bluntly.

"Why so blatant…?!" I hissed.

And then, something very strange happened.

At the same time, TenTen and the one that spoke removed their weapons, holding up a single rifle with two hands and pointing them steadily at each other. They stared, and TenTen laughed weakly.

"Well this is awkward."

"Tell me about it," her opponent muttered.

He suddenly moved sharply to the side, but she turned so she was facing him directly.

"So what do we do in this kind of situation…?" TenTen mumbled.

"No clue," her opponent said. But then, he smirked. "Well, actually…"

He suddenly reached to the side and grabbed a girl next to him, who gasped in surprise as he pulled her closer and stuffed the gun to her head.

TenTen blinked. "What are you…?"

"I know who you are," he said with a grin. "TenTen. I heard you fight for wittle girls like this? How cute. Now wouldn't you put down a gun so I don't shoot her in the head?"

"You wouldn't kill your own member…"

"Oh he would," another boy said. "Sai's been asking to get rid of her for weeks. Look, she's a coward!"

It was true, the poor thing was trembling, whimpering, and shaking her head pathetically. TenTen stared at her, then turned her head to the side. "Hinata, what do I do…?" she whispered.

"I think…they're telling the truth…" I said softly.

"Well then…" TenTen said a little louder, turning back to them. She smirked. "Two can play at that game!"

She suddenly reached behind her and grabbed something.

It took me a while to realize that she had grabbed Chouji, who had been sneaking behind her. She pulled him forward and pressed the gun to his head, snapping his own gun out of his hands. "Let her go and let me go on, or you lose one of your best members."

The boy holding the girl stared. "You wouldn't kill him…" he growled. "You're too lighthearted, TenTen, and you know it."

"Well then how about something I'm _not_ afraid to do." She moved the gun to Chouji's arm. Chouji stood there furiously, struggling, but TenTen locked it, letting it click loudly, and he froze, not wanting to lose any abilities. She turned back to the boy. "I'm definitely not afraid to shoot him. And when I do, I'll shoot the other one. Then both his legs. Then we'll see if I'm ready or not, but of course, he won't be able to _fight_ for you for a while, now, will he?"

The boy growled and dropped the girl, who, sobbing, ran off, and TenTen smirked. "Alright. Get out of the way, over to the left. Now." They obeyed quickly, all obviously besides themselves with anger but not daring risk Chouji. "Okay, big guy," TenTen said, pulling him along and keeping a firm look at the others. "Let's move."

"Being bossed around by a little girl…" Chouji growled, angry at himself as he obliged.

"Feels bad, doesn't it?" TenTen asked, grinning.

"Yes. But also somewhat amusing." He laughed grimly. "I underestimated you, I suppose…" he said thoughtfully.

"Bomb's ready!" Sakura said suddenly through the headset, and I focused attention to her as she stood from behind a couch.

Unfortunately, I hadn't been paying enough attention to her window lately.

"AGH!"

"Sakura!" I cried as she was crashed into a wall. Blood smeared on the wood as she crumpled to the ground, unconscious. The culprit grinned as he stood from his position over the couch from where he'd snuck up on her; it was Shino, his shoulder limp (he'd used the opposite arm), but bandaged.

"As I've said before, those two are quite good," Neji said calmly.

"Hyuuga, stop praising them!"

"Shut up, Neji, it's like a movie!"

I blocked out the others' squabbling behind me and bit my lip. "What happened to Sakura?" TenTen asked, worried. She was still backing away with Chouji, and I saw she was getting to the bedrooms, which were cleared halls of no one.

"She got knocked out, but listen, you have to hurry. Push Chouji out, close the door to the hall, and look through every bedroom you can find. And start at the end, that way no one can sneak between rooms, alright?"

"Got it!"! She suddenly pushed Chouji away from her, slammed the door to the hall shut, and grabbed an iron chair from nearby, stuffing it against the knob and looking around. She ran to the end of the hall first, looking through any open doors, and then immediately thrust through the first. It was completely empty, so she went to the one across from it. She kept getting the same results as she worked her way down the hall, and she kept asking, "How much more time do I have?!".

Until I said, "TenTen, you only have three minutes!"

She groaned. "I'm only half-way down the hall!" I checked on Sakura's window again. Fortunately her attacker had been busying himself with the bomb, not her, but he couldn't find a way to disable. I noticed he was gone, suddenly, and gasped.

"TenTen, _hurry_!"

Then, something strange happened.

_"Evacuate. A bomb has been planted in the lowest story. Evacuate immediately."_

"These guys have a speaker system?!" TenTen groaned.

"Wow, they're pretty high tech," Shikamaru said, frowning. "I'm jealous!"

"TenTen, hurry, move!" I cried as people started running from their bedrooms, mulling through the hall and fleeing through the door. No one would attack her in the confusion, but Ino would get out!

And that's when we saw her on the screen. Ino was walking down the hall, looking confused and wary, and when she spotted TenTen, who pushed people aside and called out to her immediately, she gasped, staring at her in horror, then fled, in the opposite direction of everyone. I knew this was bad; she couldn't stay in here while the bomb went off…

"No! Ino!" TenTen yelled, pressing past people. "Damn it! Hinata, how's Sakura doing?!"

I turned back to the window and bit my lip. "No…people are coming!" The same group that TenTen had run into on the second story, along with Chouji and Shino, were now on the first story with Sakura, who was unconscious and unable to protect herself. But she was slowly waking, I could tell, she was narrowing her eyes, mouth opening and closing. "She's waking up, maybe she can take them…"

"Move only to Sakura's window, Hinata, alright? I can handle it. She needs concentration, give her all you've got!" TenTen ordered. "And don't let her get hurt!"

"Alright." I glanced down at the laptop.

"Hey, be careful, if you need help on which-"

I interrupted Shikamaru by clicking on Sakura's window, and it blinked to full screen.

Shikamaru blinked. "…Never mind then…"

"Sakura, wake up!" I said as loudly as I could into the speaker. I heard my voice get hoarse with worry and closed my eyes, trying to calm myself. But my heart was racing. Things weren't turning out the way I'd planned. This was much harder than I'd expected. What if it fell apart again? Separated, we were nothing. We couldn't do this. We would fail, just like I'd thought, and I'd never-!

"Hinata…"

I felt hands on my shoulders and my eyes snapped open.

"It's okay, relax. It's okay…"

I was frozen in place. Naruto's hands. Warm. Like his smile. Like his eyes. Like his voice. Like his welcoming arms that I still remembered around my waist, his kiss, his lips pressed to mine…All warm, cozy, welcoming…

'_Like the sun…_'

"Wh…Hinata, what happened…?"

Naruto lifted his hands from my shoulders, and I stuttered, "S-Sakura?" into the headset. I cleared my throat, attentive to the window on the screen. "Sakura! Are you alright? You were knocked out."

She was sitting up slowly, groaning and holding onto her head, which is when the boys saw her, and she gasped and stood up, using the wall as a support.

"H-Hinata, what do I do?!" she demanded, sounding scared.

"Calm down," I said simply. "That's what you do." I could feel Naruto's reassuring smile behind me, and I smiled as well. "Relax. Think." I exhaled my fears, exhaled my doubts, and said, "Fight."

"Wh-What?! Me?!" she asked. "I can't-!"

"TenTen's been teaching you, Sakura!" I said. "Just be TenTen!"

She sighed, calming herself. "Okay. Be TenTen…" She faced the boys, who were facing her.

"Awake now, precious?" one of them asked. "Come on, pink princess, we have to take you into your castle for some questioning."

"Be TenTen…" she whispered.

"What was that?" one of them sneered.

"Be TenTen…" she said as they advanced.

"Alright, come on, you're too woozy from that punch to fight back," one of them said, reaching out to her. "Just come quietly and-HOLY _SHIT_!"

I didn't want to know what I'd created…

"Sakura…that was…" I said, eyes wide.

"Holy fuck…" Temari whispered.

"DUDE!" Naruto shouted.

"I think that was a record," Shikamaru said reasonably.

I guess I caused Sakura to use _all_ her strength, which was, unfortunately, well fortunately for us but unfortunately for the boy and Sakura's balance, _a lot_, to say the least, which made the boy go flying across the entire room and Sakura to go stumbling out of balance and fall to the ground.

"Well, I guess the falling was like TenTen…" Temari said, sighing and shaking her head as Sasuke stared, eyes wide, frozen in shock.

"When did she…?" Sasuke whispered.

I turned back to the screen as the boys stared at her, mouths hanging open. "U-U-Um…Sakura…?"

"S-Sorry, I went…overboard…" she panted, scrambling to her feet.

"N-No, um, good job…" I laughed weakly. "Very good job, Sakura-chan, um…" I blinked. "Oh no!"

"What?!"

"Three seconds!"

Sakura's eyes were huge. "What?!"

And at that moment, there was a huge bang, exploding and making even the laptop from where we were parked in the street in front of the hideout to vibrate. I glanced up, since the dust made it impossible to see.

The building was on fire.

Fortunately, I could see everyone that had been inhabiting it had come out the back, and the boys on the first story, including Chouji and Shino, had made a run for it and were coughing from the dust and smoke they ran from the cloud of. I doubted they'd come over here.

Of course, Sakura and TenTen were still inside, and it seemed so was Ino, after all TenTen was supposed to have cut her off…

"M-Made it!" Sakura suddenly coughed.

I stared at a larger cloud of dust, and then I smiled in relief; Sakura had broke down another wall. She was walking through, her fist held up, surrounded by dust that swirled around her, gold and yellow, so she looked like she was shining like some sort of angel.

I turned to glance at Sasuke. I could sense his emotions waving off of him as he stared at her, suddenly looking less shocked and more interested…

No, more than interested.

Obsessed.

"H-Hinata…?"

We heard TenTen's voice come from the speakers, and I turned back. "TenTen?" I asked. She sounded terrified. I bit my lip. "Where are you?"

"…Look up…"

I blinked and did so to the building. First I saw Sakura running over to us gradually. My eyes lifted to the fire on the first story, slowly rising up to the second story. They trailed higher, to the windows that were slowly crunching in on themselves, glass raining down like crystal snow from some twisted child's fairy tale dreams.

"Oh my god…" Temari said softly, and for the first time, I heard true desperate fear in her voice.

The smoke swirled upwards, higher and higher to the floors and floors of cement, and then, my heart seemed to stop.

A lone figure stood on the edge of the top story, looking down at the fires six stories below her.

TenTen.

"…_TenTen?!_"

**T**e**n**T**e**n

My heart was trying to get out of my chest, I could tell.

Never had I been so scared before in my entire life.

I felt the adrenaline, the wind tousling my bangs, my cheeks pale and redden again, over and over again, and saw the fire and smoke welcomingly lick down below for me to jump to my death.

"What are you _doing_?!" Hinata cried, sounding so scared, desperate, and horrified that I knew my fate was sealed.

"I-I tried to follow Ino, she led me up here and locked me up. I-I don't think she knew about the bomb…I don't know where she is now…" I stuttered, trying to keep my cool. I heard Hinata try to control her breathing over the headset. "Wh-Where's Sakura?"

"I'm coming over to Hinata, what's going on?!" I heard Sakura ask breathlessly through the headset.

"TenTen…TenTen, you have to jump…" Hinata said, voice wild.

"What?!" I cried indignantly.

"You know how to do it, there's nothing else to do!"

"Hinata, I won't make it!"

"No! This way you have a chance!"

"Hinata, I don't, I'll die!"

"You'll die for _sure_ if you stay there, TenTen!" she said loudly.

It was silent, all I could hear was the hiss of the headset. Then I swallowed hard, and nodded, closing my eyes. "Okay," I said, my voice breaking with fear. "Okay."

I faced the flagpole across from me.

"I'm not scared…I'm not scared…" I whispered, even though I knew they could all hear me through the headset. "I'm not scared."

It was scared.

"I'm not scared…"

I was terrified.

"I'm scared…"

But I had to trust Hinata.

"O-Okay, I am _so_ scared…"

And I had to prove myself in front of Neji.

"…I'm scared…"

There was nothing else to do, nowhere else to go.

"Okay…"

My eyes snapped open.

"…So…what…?"

I backed up and got ready to fly.

**S**a**k**u**r**a

I stumbled to a stop, twisting around. I couldn't handle it, hearing TenTen and Hinata talking, I just had to turn around again.

I'd told myself I wouldn't, as I ran back to the others at the car. Like not to look down when you're crossing a trapeze. You weren't supposed to worry yourself even more.

But I did, and I didn't like what I saw.

"TENTEN!" I cried, staring at the girl as she backed up. "Hinata!" I cried into my headset. "What is she doing, what does she think she's _doing_?!"

I could hear the others protesting as well through the background in Hinata's headset as she said, "I told her to." She didn't exactly sound confident…

"Hinata, _no_! She can't, she can't jump! There's nothing to help her, she can't improvise while free-falling! Hinata!" I insisted, staring as she stood on the roof.

"I-I don't know, I can't let her burn to death!"

"Hinata, don't let her jump to death!"

"She's not answering the headset, Sakura, I _tried_!"

"Hinata!" I yelled.

"I'm trying, I am!" she cried, and she sounded so stressed that quite possibly she was going to start crying any second.

But that's when we all saw her start to run.

"TENTEN, STOP!" Hinata was suddenly screaming, but it was in vain. She was running at me now, running like her life depended on it, ignoring Naruto and Temari calling her back, her hair flying behind her as she ran over to me. "TENTEN!"

Just a few starting steps, and then, she was jumping off the roof, like it was suicide.

Maybe it was.

"NO!" I heard Hinata scream, and tears burst from my own eyes.

"TENTEN!"

**x**x**x**x**x**

Sai growled to himself as he walked back and forth among his gang. All thirty of them, hopefully, stood before him as he called names and they yelled back that they were indeed present. They were behind his burning hideout.

The fire department would come, but probably hours later, because all force mechanisms in Konoha were lazy, he knew. He would kill the one that did this, but first, he had to make sure of a few things.

Finally, he got to the name he had the most trouble on. "Yamanaka!" he roared to the crowd.

There was no answer. There was only the shifting of people from side to side, the comfort of those that had been injured or scared. Sai narrowed his eyes.

Where was Ino…?

**H**i**n**a**t**a

I found myself stopping in spite of myself, just standing there, frozen.

That was when I saw it.

I looked over my shoulder, very slowly, at Neji, my eyes wide, tears streaming from them.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion. I stared at my cousin. He sat there, and for some reason, I saw a smirk on his face.

It was a knowing look in his eyes.

A familiar look.

There was a someone, something, somewhere, somehow…we could all believe in…

A bird fluttered from a tree branch, and I whipped around as time moved again, and I stared at TenTen, holding onto the rope of the flagpole and sliding down it.

Unharmed. Perfectly. Slowly. Carefully. Easily.

It was all so perfect, you would have thought she had planned it out from the beginning.

And, knowing her, she probably had…

"Oh…my god…" Sakura was gasping.

"T-TenTen…!" I said in surprise, panting from running.

She gently got to the ground and hopped off the flagpole, landing catlike on the ground. She stood and stared straight forward, holding onto her head. I heard her say through the headset, "Wh-Whoa…", and then heard Temari and Naruto burst out into wild laughs of relief even from here, from the parking lot halfway away from Sakura and I.

"TenTen…how…?" Sakura asked into the headset.

"I…don't…know…" she said, but she was stumbling around like she'd just been on a roller coaster. She seemed dizzy, like she was going to faint any second.

Sakura shook her head. "Th-That's besides the point…T-TenTen, get _over_ here…"

I couldn't help but think about Neji.

Had he known this all along as well?

Or was he the only one that actually had faith in her so deep that it was unbreakable?

**T**e**n**T**e**n

My hands were bleeding more than they'd bled in a while.

Sakura tried to take a look at them as we walked back to the car, but I refused. I wanted this to be a scar. Because I knew something they didn't. I could feel it. And it wasn't good. It was from the rope that I'd slid down. Of course they'd be bleeding. Part of my arm that had scraped against the rope was bleeding as well. But I'd dealt with worse, and I could definitely handle this.

We finally got to the car, and Temari immediately ran over.

"TenTen, my god, I can't believe you did that!" she cried. I could _feel_ Neji's stare, but I didn't want that right now. I didn't want pride, or astonishment, or care.

"TenTen, are your legs hurting…? Let me look…they're bruised!" Sakura cried.

"TenTen, sit down, hurry up," Hinata ushered me over to the car, but I shook my head, still trying to get my bearings after the world had flown past me.

For a brief second, I had flown, and the world, gone from under my feet, had disappeared, all my problems going along with it.

For a brief second, I had debated whether or not to grab the rope and become attached yet again to the earth. Maybe, without all the problems, I would have just let myself go, flown forever.

But then I remembered Ino, and remembered what I had done and what I deserved, and I decided this world, although it was too much for me to take, would be good enough punishment.

"TenTen, you need some water or-?"

"Shut up, all of you!" I cried angrily, interrupting Sasuke, who snapped his mouth shut. "Don't you idiots understand?!" They all stared at me, and I covered my eyes with my arm.

"Ino died!" I shouted into my arm. "And it's all my fault!"

"Wh…What…?" Temari whispered.

"The bomb went off," I said through my teeth, feeling my eyes start to water. I didn't care that my clothes were covered with soot and dust, my arms and legs and hands were bleeding, I was covered in bruises, and I ached all over. I deserved it, I deserved everything.

", and Ino was still inside."

This was worse than we'd expected.

We thought the consequence could be not joining the gang again.

We thought the closest thing to misery would be never seeing them again.

But we forgot about the worst thing that could happen.

Yet again, we'd failed to think about anyone but ourselves…

**X**X**X**X**X**

And thus Mara kills off Ino and forces TenTen to contemplate suicide. Don't hurt me! –squeaks and hides-  
Re-Read & Edited while listening to: _Fade_ by _The Frequency_.  
thanks for reading!  
xmarachanx


	31. Home

So I'm epic at tongue twisters. And that is my hello for the day. Long chapter again, so…THANKS:  
_yeji301, AnimeLover325, Black Blood Blossom, Ukyou-Taisuke, MizChriztina, anthropomorphichybrid, jaberjazz, Music 1s my s0ul, kimiko77, crimsonstripe, Pnkrockninja101, Metal-Blondie, Sasu-Saku-cherryblossom, jolteonforever, loveholic, Tobi-obsessed, XxkikiroxX, kooliogrrl45, UcHiHaHyUuGa, OpalescentStorm, KaitoKakashi, LyricGirl16, naruto watching freak, Rio-ChanShy-Achillea, Hikoru Aniki, Ichiko and Tenten, Nerd4eva, ShinobiXAngel, steffiepoo, Chigiri Sasaki, MidniteCurse4Eternity, Maya-chan2007, StrawberrySmoothie99, Cece and Tems, Youkai Koneko, mangamaniacgurl_  
**You guys are gonna wanna kill me AGAIN for this chapter. XD Oh, and by the way, fun Karin-screen-time! YESH! I love Karin so… :3  
**Enjoy!

**X**X**X**X**X**

**H**e**a**r **N**o **E**v**i**l_  
See no evil. Speak no evil._

**D**i**s**c**l**a**i**m**e**r: Oh emm eff gee, I don't own Naruto. :)  
**S**o**n**g: _Time Hollow_ by _Masanori Akita_

C**h**. **T**h**i**r**t**y **F**o**u**r** – **Home

_Draw the line and turn back time  
Taking back what was mine  
Now I can change almost anything  
Hold tight search for the light  
Don't know what's wrong or right  
Put the pieces back where they belong_

**x**x**x**x**x**

"Matsuri."

Matsuri smiled as she heard her name spoken in that familiar, deep voice, controlled and calming. "Gaara," she said, always happy to hear her lover, even over her cell phone as she sat on a bed next to another girl, both of them bathed in the darkness of the hotel room that was lit only by a dim lamp standing in the corner near the door.

"Status?" he demanded quickly, not wasting any time.

"I ditched them," she said lamely. Ever since her gang had been qualified as a major one in Konoha, she had been busy lately, and she had also gotten quite the collection of guns. "I doubted they would want me there. It's sort of a team thing going on. But…" She smirked at the girl next to her. "_Karin_ has some business she would like to discuss with us regarding our mission in the future."

Karin leaned forward into the light, which reflected off of her glasses, hiding her eyes. "Please put him on speaker."

Matsuri did so, and Karin cleared her throat. Also since the girls had left and since Matsuri's gang had gotten qualified_, she_ had changed. Her gang was still just as large, deciding to stay in the abandoned hotel and keep it as their hideout, and twice as vicious, but only because she was training them twice as hard. Orochimaru's first encounter with her had taught her not to make mistakes, Matsuri knew as she glanced at Karin's exposed belly (she wore a red tube top that ended right under her breasts and matching red shorts only), seeing the long, trademark scar there.

"Matsuri tells me _those three_ are back," Karin said slowly, void of emotion. "The ones we almost beat?"

"Yes, I've heard this as well. They're not hiding anymore, that's for certain, although the last I heard they haven't joined Uchiha's gang as of yet," Gaara said simply.

"Yes, Matsuri says they're currently going through a challenge Temari thought up to get them back in." Karin moved so her eyes could be seen, and they were narrowed carefully. "The challenge is to get Ino back."

Gaara was silent, then he said, "Matsuri, confirm this."

"I'm sorry Gaara-sama, I was going to tell you but I wanted to tell Karin first. It's true, though," Matsuri said quickly. "Every word."

They could hear Gaara breathing slowly, contemplating, before he began again. "Does Temari understand their chance of accomplishment?"

"She seemed sure of herself," Matsuri reported. "Although nervous."

"She's probably thinking along the lines that if those three came back, then Ino can come back as well," Karin gathered. "She's sick of giving up…"

"Then we will be as well," Gaara decided.

Karin and Matsuri shared a look. Though they didn't want to admit it, he was right; they weren't going to give up.

"What's the information, Karin?"

"...Orochimaru's third station is run by a control room, and Hinata Hyuuga has some information regarding this room, I'm sure Uchiha has let it known, as well as the fact that unfortunately three people from my gang had been working with Orochimaru. I have kicked them out. Also, TenTen seems to have something very valuable relating to Orochimaru's third station on her."

"What would that be…?"

"A key."

Revenge wasn't something you could give up on anyway.

**T**e**n**T**e**n

"Y…You're not…serious…" Temari was whispering.

I couldn't hear anything. All I could hear was my breathing, deep and shallow. I was aching all over, my legs were shaking, but I was numb and I couldn't tell, all I could feel was the slow throbbing my body gave. I knew that jump had damaged me in many ways, I could feel the bruises on my legs. But I couldn't feel the pain. No matter how much I wanted to.

I deserved it. I deserved all of it.

I wished I could have been punished, some way. As I heard Temari collapse against the car in silence, the rest of them unbearably quiet, I couldn't understand why no one was hurting me.

"W-Well…?" I asked when a silence stretched on without any pain or discomfort.

"Well _what_, hunny…?" Sakura's voice asked carefully. "TenTen, are you okay? You need to calm down…"

"When?!" I demanded, flinging my arm from in front of my eyes, staring around desperately at them, angry. "What are you doing, just standing there?! Why aren't you even _yelling_ at me?! Hit me! Come _on_!"

"TenTen…" Hinata said, reaching out to console me, but I flung her hand away from me.

"Don't _help_ me!" I said to her, bewildered, confused, scared. "Aren't you guys gonna punish me?!"

I wanted to feel it again.

_'More…'_

I wanted to feel the hand slapping me across the face, hear the voices screaming names in my direction. I wanted to feel lower than a planet's abandoned creature, in the slime, dragging itself along through the mud, slopping the sopping wet lilies aside and calling out for someone to care for it, recognize it, understand it.

That was me. I didn't want to feel like nothing. I wanted to feel like something, even if that was it.

I had just murdered Ino. Killed her. Manslaughter, whatever it was, I had done it, and she was dead, burned alive, with no warning, no help, nothing, no one…

"I-It's my fault!" I stuttered, staring at the others that just stared right back wordlessly, all different emotions, different mixtures of sadness and confusion. "Why aren't you hitting me?! Come _on_!" I insisted, yelling now.

"TenTen…you idiot…"

I turned in surprise at Hinata's voice. She was standing next to Sakura, and staring straight ahead with a look on her face that, however, was _not_ angry. It was…

…happy…?

"Wh-What…?"

"You did it…" she whispered. "You idiot, you did it…"

"What?!"

All of us turned around, and I saw something that, if I was any weaker, would have made me faint.

Ino.

She was walking through the dust, her long jacket flying behind her with her golden hair, one arm wrapped around her own stomach. She was covered in black soot and ash and the powder of destroyed bricks, but otherwise unharmed. And the smile on her face was almost humorous, it made me feel embarrassed. She was walking across the parking lot, the destroyed, flaming parking structure behind her in the distance, getting closer to us, and seeing our gaze she gave a sad, small wave.

My heart was skipping beats as I heard Temari exhale a breath behind me, long and shuddering and confused. Hell, _I_ was confused, more confused than I'd ever been. I couldn't even register what was going on.

And then, Sakura gave a happy, relieved laugh, hiding a sob that had probably been building up in her chest and pushing it back down again for another time that I forbid to happen.

"TenTen, you _did_ it!" she cried, laughing as Ino crossed the parking structure and finally got to us, standing there awkwardly with a smile that I couldn't even describe. And Sakura ran forward and flung her arms around Ino, pulling Hinata almost violently with her.

I stared as Ino laughed and hugged Sakura as well, the two laughing with each other in relief, Hinata joining in soon, the sound sweet and melodic like some sort of forgotten music. I remembered when Sakura had woken and was so desperate, filled with failure as she realized she hadn't stopped Ino from leaving, she had let Ino slip through her fingers.

Somehow, I didn't know how, I had done what she couldn't.

"Wh-What?! But I didn't-!" I was laughing, however, and I shook my head. "Ino!" I ran over, and Ino, seeing me, was running at me as well, jumping at me and giggling desperately into my shoulder.

"TenTen…!" she said, and I heard the grief stretching her voice. "You little panda, you saved me, you know that?!"

"I-I just _pushed_ you towards the front door, I-I didn't think you got the idea!" I said happily, leaning back to laugh even more as I stared at her happy face.

Then, I realized one more thing I'd forgotten.

Temari.

I turned and grinned when I saw Temari, standing there and staring at Ino. Surprised, scared, a mixture of emotions that just made her confused.

But I was _not_ gonna pity her because of a little shock.

"Here!" I suddenly pulled Temari over and pushed her and Ino together. They stumbled to a stop and stared at each other as I backed up to join Sakura and Hinata, the three of us beaming at the two.

They seemed to share some sort of conversation with their blue eyes. I took the time to appreciate the strength of their friendship. I doubted they'd forgotten about each other through all of this. Half a year, and it still hurt them just as much.

I could see them on their motorcycles back then, when they'd join hands and let go. I could see them dancing together in the middle of the room, giving fake lap dances to the sofas. I could see them listening to music and singing along to the best (or maybe worst) of their abilities. And now I could see them staring at each other when they hadn't been friends for half a year and were considered rivals.

They were crying and hugging each other soon enough, no, sobbing as they embraced, laughing through their tears and so happy that it made _me_ want to cry as well.

"I-I'm back…" Ino called happily from around Temari's shoulder, the two laughing a bit as they separated and looked each other over.

"Hell yeah!" Sakura suddenly roared, and I couldn't help but crack up at her over-enthusiasm. But Temari was suddenly tackling me, yelling how stupid I was and how I'd cared her to death but hugging me and thanking me over and over again.

"Hey, let me in!" Ino suddenly grabbed our hands, and we laughed and jumped up and down, forcing Sakura and Hinata in on it as well, screaming and squealing excitedly and hugging each other, acting so girly it went against all my beliefs, but I honestly couldn't care.

I saw, suddenly, rounding the corner of the building, a lone figure. He'd been there for a while, obvious, I could feel his gaze; he'd seen everything.

I grinned and separated from the rest of them, then pointed at him. "Hey, Sai!" I yelled. The others stopped, and Sai stared at us as we all gazed at him. I grinned.

"In your face!"

We were back.

And I wasn't gonna waste a second of it.

'_I really am stupid, aren't I?_' I thought as I watched the others laugh, Ino shyly waving at him farewell before turning back to Hinata to fawn over her outfit. I turned to look at the other four. Naruto was pointing at us and laughing eagerly. Shikamaru was shaking his head exasperatedly, but smirking. Sasuke looked confused and seemed to still be putting two and two together.

Neji was smirking at me, a knowing look in his eyes as he caught my gaze. I smiled at him excitedly.

'_But I guess if Neji saw the best parts of it, stupidity can be a good thing…_'

**x**x**x**x**x**

"…You can't be serious."

"Oh, I am," Sasuke said, smirking.

Neji and I stood, bewildered, facing each other in front of the trunk where Sasuke sat (Shikamaru had cleaned the tech supplies from it beforehand) with a small black notebook in his hands, papers glued to the pages insides, ripped pages taped back-together and the corners of such sticking out of it in odd angles. The others were standing off to the side of the parking lot, watching us without a word, Temari and Ino arm in arm and Naruto and Shikamaru looking slightly intense. Sakura and Hinata were standing off to the side of Sasuke, Neji and I.

"Uchiha…" Neji said, sighing. "I've observed you say many stupid things in your lifetime. But this is, by far, the stupidest."

"Shut up, Hyuuga. I didn't make this, Gaara and Kankerou did," Sasuke snapped. "Let me go over the directions again. We do the ceremonies in order as they are listed in the book I borrowed from them. The ceremony for the weapons specialist goes before the coordinator and the medic." He cleared his throat and began to read. "The directions for the weapons specialist or long-range fighter, are below and are to be followed step by step with no talking from the weapons specialist or long-range fighter. The directions for a weapons specialist or long-range fighter that is a sidekick or has a sidekick are on the next page. These are to be followed for both reinstating specialists or first time recognition."

"These are gangs, why so professional?" Sakura muttered. "It's like a mini-government."

Sasuke ignored her. "When the leader of the gang says to start, all talking between both sidekick and fighter will stop until the leader says it's alright to talk again, or the ceremony isn't completed." Sasuke sighed. "Alright. Let's get going then. You two, no talking."

"Why?" I blurted out, and Neji shook his head.

"Don't bother, these gang ceremonies are crap," Neji muttered.

"Going on," Sasuke said a little louder. "No talking! Starting now! So both of you, shut your shit-holes!" We both glared at him but didn't talk. "Okay. Step one; fighter and sidekick, face each other." We did so, but kept looking at Sasuke, and he groaned. "Look at each other!" he ordered. We did so, but slowly, uncertainly, not really wanting to. "Neji, take out your knife," Sasuke said.

He did so, and I recognized it; Neji's favorite knife he always kept in his back pocket. I smiled in spite of myself when I saw it, wondering how something so violent could be so familiar.

"TenTen, hold out your left hand in front of him, palm up, and don't move."

I held it out, wondering what was supposed to happen. Neji seemed just as confused as I was.

"Neji, it says you have to carve your name into her palm."

Neji and I glanced over at him, appalled, opening our mouths, but he said, "No talking!", and we snapped them shut, staring at him.

"What?!" Sakura cried.

"Hey, that wasn't what _we_ had to do," Temari said.

"Yeah, you and Ino had to crash a car to get in," Naruto said, grinning. "Come on, guys, don't be wimps! It's a _trust_ thing!"

Confused, we glanced between Naruto and Sasuke, who nodded.

"The dobe's right," Sasuke said. "It's to signal trust. That you'll only trust each other, completely, and you'll never separate."

I turned to glance at Neji, whose eyes were slowly edging back to me. Sasuke continued. "It's to signify that you won't ever leave. A sidekick and a fighter don't ever leave the other behind. TenTen, you'll cover Neji at all times. Neji, you'll protect TenTen at all times. One of you gets injured, so does the other. It's how it goes. You have to carve each other's first _and last _names into each other's palms to show that you are proud to be part of the other."

I bit my lip, my eyes slowly moving up, and soon they were caught by Neji's intense gaze. He looked unsure of himself as he glanced at my hand, then back to me, and I sighed and nodded at him. He took my hand in his.

My eyes widened.

I had almost forgotten…

I'd been busy holding Sakura and Hinata's hands for so long, I'd forgotten the warm feel of another one. And this one was gentle, firm, large and comfortable. My hand felt _right_ in his palm as his other hand held the knife above my palm. He sunk the blade tentatively into my skin, and when I winced, he glanced up at me in worry, but I nodded my head again, making sure no sound came from my shut lips as he continued to work reluctantly.

His writing in my hand hurt, of course, and blood dripped over my palm (I could hear Sakura groan aloud and Hinata whimper), but it was _right_. I felt like it belonged there. I knew the scar would stay there forever, the wounds were deep. I would see his name there forever…

Neji finished – I didn't want to look for fear of getting queasy - and I felt soon after bandages wrapping tightly around my hand; Sasuke grabbing them from the trunk and doing so. When he was done, I looked at my hand at last. The blood was soaking slowly through the bandages, but it wasn't as bad as I'd expected, and Sasuke opened his book again. "Okay, now it's the other way around. Neji, give your knife to TenTen." He did so reluctantly, and I took it almost curiously, examining it in my fingers. "Hold out your _right_ hand and don't move."

I wondered why it was _my_ left but _his_ right, but I didn't dare ask, Sasuke looked a little impatient. "TenTen, carve your first and last name into Neji's palm."

I blinked and turned to Sasuke, opening my mouth. "No talking," he said however, and I snapped it shut, irritant, wondering how to explain it. Fortunately Hinata was smart enough to explain it for me.

"Sasuke…she doesn't have a last name…" she spoke up hesitantly.

Sasuke glanced between Hinata and I, then sighed. "Crap, I forgot about that…" he muttered. "Alright, well…Just use Hyuuga's, TenTen."

My mouth dropped open, and Neji gave Sasuke an appalled look, both of us turning red. Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Oh come on, do you guys want to use someone _else's_?"

Both of us glanced back at each other, still blushing, and I knew we both understood…

'_I wouldn't rather have any other person's…_'

Embarrassed, and hating myself for doing it, I sank the blade of Neji's pocketknife into his palm. He winced as well, but he was strong enough to look, which I hated as I carved my first name and his last into his palm. I had to wipe the blood away a few times so I could see, which was so aggravating it made my stomach twist, but eventually I got it done, and Sasuke grabbed him and wrapped the bandages around his hand immediately.

When he was finally done, he opened the book again. "Alright…let's see…Ah, you're done."

"_Finally_ I can talk again!" I cried, throwing Neji's knife back at him, who crossed over to the trunk and sat down muttering something about "wondering why the hell he'd joined in the first place". I ran over to Sakura and Hinata and wiped my forehead with a "Whew!"

"Keeping your big trap shut takes some effort, huh Panda?"

"Just like keeping your big ass off the ground does?"

"…Wait, what did you say?"

"Nothing."

"Okay, coordinator's next," Sasuke spoke up suddenly, and Hinata shyly stepped forward, to the cheering of Naruto which Temari shushed quickly.

"Don't worry, you're not gonna have to cut yourself up," he said, noticing the look she gave to Neji, who was cleaning the knife carelessly and not paying attention to a thing. "The coordinator has to…heh, look at that."

"What?" Hinata asked curiously.

"Well, you have to know how to assemble a bomb, first off." Sasuke smirked as he looked up at her, and Sakura and I each dropped our mouths open. "Huh. Looks like that's covered."

"Y-Yes," Hinata stuttered, seeming a little overwhelmed.

"Calm down," Sasuke said, noticing this. "You struck lucky, so relax. All we gotta do is shake hands, showing…" He squinted so he could read. "Showing the bond between leader and coordinator: The leader puts his trust into the coordinator, knowing he can listen to them and knowing that what they have to say is sometimes greater than his own knowledge." He coughed. "Well, I guess that's it, then. Here we go." He held out his hand. "When I say start, no speaking. Start."

Hinata closed her, lips, but smiled as she shook his hand up and down. He smiled back and nodded, and they let go. "Good. We can talk now, and, we're done. So we'll get the medic next." Hinata walked away seeming nervous, and Sakura edged forward, even _more_ nervous and seeming close to hysterics, which was never far away when it came to her.

"Wh-What do I have to do…?"

He glanced at her. "Calm down…" he muttered after examining her for a while, turning back to the book, and Sakura glared at him. I, however, could see the blush on his face, and I frowned a bit.

"Let's see…Oh…Pfft, great…"

"What?"

Sasuke looked up at her, and for the first time in a while, I saw a bit of worry on his face. "You have to heal yourself…"

It was silent, then she said, "H…Huh…?"

"Say what?!" Temari and I both hissed.

"That's what it says…" Sasuke said, glancing down at the book. Someone's supposed to stab you in the right or left shoulder very deep, and you have to heal yourself with no help from anyone else, even if it's a life or death situation."

Sakura gulped. "R-Really?"

"…That's what it says…" Sasuke repeated. He shook his head, suddenly putting the book down. "Well, um…" He cleared his throat. "That thing's stupid anyways-"

"Ass-hole," Neji said darkly, and we all looked to him. "You made TenTen and I carve each other's names on the other's hand with a knife. And you're saying a simple shoulder wound cancels it all? I didn't do that for nothing. You'll complete it, or I'll contact Gaara and Kankerou immediately."

"You're kidding me, Hyuuga, you can't seriously-"

"I-It's okay," Sakura said.

"N-No, Sakura-chan, you can't!" Hinata cried, though. "That's going too far, Sasuke, Neji, please see, it's not worth it. You can do something else, right?"

"Hinata-sama, you're not understanding-"

"No, Hyuuga!" Sasuke interrupted Neji. "_You're_ not understanding, it says _life or death_, that's _bad_!"

"You two underestimate-"

"Okay!" Everyone stopped and glanced at me, and I frowned. "Sakura, do it!"

Sakura smiled at me, we shared a meaningful look. She wasn't going to wimp out on something like this. Definitely not.

She was stronger than that.

I hadn't trained her for nothing.

"Okay." She turned to Sasuke. "Please let me do this."

He stared at her, and groaned. "I can't believe I'm letting you…" he muttered.

She smiled. "Who's going to stab me then?"

He coughed. "Well…" He put a palm to his face slowly. "Me…" he growled.

She stared, and gulped. "Well…go ahead, then…" she said slowly, walking over to him.

Neji handed him his knife, and, still keeping a hand over his face, he stood and stayed in front of Sakura with the knife, and she closed her eyes, waiting. I bit my lip. I felt bad, offering her up like this, but I knew it had to be done.

'_We can't give up, not when we're so close…_'

"I'm sorry…" he said suddenly, and I noticed his hand reach up for a brief second to brush against her cheek. My eyes widened. What was he doing?!

And then, the knife sunk into her shoulder.

**H**i**n**a**t**a

After about half an hour of Sakura doing what TenTen insisted was "freaking out over the smallest flesh wound she'd ever seen", complaining it was the deepest thing she'd ever gotten, and Sakura disinfecting the wound thoroughly and making sure the gash, which was absolutely _puny_ (I knew Sasuke wouldn't _really_ hurt her) and, although it seemed like it would hurt since the blood soaked her clothes, looked relatively painless, was completely clean and bandaged, she'd pronounced herself **done** and stood with a proud look on her face that I smiled at, but TenTen grumbled under her breath she wanted to wipe off with a 'fucking punch'.

Now, we were all walking up to the house after driving back. Ino had been in the seat next to Temari, and the two were chatting like nothing had ever happened. Before, Sasuke had grabbed her, pulled her to the side, and slammed her against the car very violently and rambled on for about fifteen minutes about how pissed he was that she had left _his_ gang for _Sai's_, which seemed to be one of the worst insults he'd ever gotten in his life. Ino just nodded and let _him_ insult _her_ for another couple minutes before Temari dragged him off of her, calming him down with a few harmless smacks to the head, then declaring it was time to go home.

The house, I decided as we all walked up to it, was still in shambles, but considerably better since we'd gotten there. Ino was ecstatic to be back again, and she bounded up the stairs eagerly.

"Come on, hurry up! Temari, Shikamaru, I wanna see some makin' out!"

"Wh-What?!" Temari cried as we all entered, and Shikamaru gave Ino a look.

Ino smirked. "I heard you and Tayuya broke up, Shikamaru. Which means Temari, you know why he was going out with her in the first place."

TenTen was looking eager for a fight as she watched excitedly their faces as the others all sat down, ignoring them as if things like this happened every day.

"W-Well, um…" Temari stuttered.

Shikamaru sighed. "Ino, stay out of it."

"Stay out of _what_, Shika-kun?" she asked slyly.

They both blushed a tad and turned to glance at each other. "Nothing…" Shikamaru muttered.

"No, there's definitely _something_." TenTen was adding her input now, joining Ino and linking arms with her, grinning. "Maybe more than one _thing_. Yeah, I think I see a lot of _things_ going on here!"

"Sh-Shut up, you two don't know what you're talking about!" Temari snapped.

"Oh?" TenTen grinned. "I heard Shikamaru say 'I love you' over the phone, Temari." Temari's eyes widened, Shikamaru closed his. He turned away, a hand on the wall, and Temari glanced at him then back to TenTen and Ino. Sakura and I were gazing on, hands to our mouths. "I heard him say how he was only going out with her because she was blackmailing him, making sure he thought she was going to hurt you. I heard him say how much he cares about your life."

"Isn't it about time you guys stop pretending?" Ino asked, waving a hand through the air. "Don't be silly gooses! You're smarter than that, right?"

"Silly gooses…?" TenTen repeated indignantly.

When neither one of them said a word, TenTen sighed. "Oh come _on_! Listen, if you're not gonna-!"

She was interrupted when suddenly Temari grabbed Shikamaru by the collar and pulled him away into the hall. Her voice faded, and both she and Ino were completely silent – in fact the entire room was silent – as we heard a few thumps, bangs, and a door opening and closing, then a couple muffled moans and sounds that I really didn't want to know about.

"Um…yay?" TenTen said weakly.

Ino giggled giddily. "I guess it worked!" She turned around, arms wide. "_HOME_!" she yelled, so loud that Sakura had to cover her ears.

"Quiet down," Neji said darkly, pulling out his gun. "This isn't play time."

"Right!" Suddenly Sakura was yanking TenTen over to the sofa and throwing her down. "It's examination time!"

**S**a**k**u**r**a

There was something wrong, definitely wrong, with Sasuke.

I'd spent about half an hour checking everyone, using up all of my bandages and solutions and having to borrow more from Sasuke. TenTen, Ino and I all had nasty burns, but those were fixed up quickly. TenTen's legs, I'd realized after feeling them down (fortunately she wore a skirt and leggings, so she didn't have to take off any pants in front of everyone) were jammed, and the knee-bones were out of their sockets, which wasn't hard to fix, but was quite painful for TenTen who had tears pricking her eyes by the end of it but refused to cry. Overall, TenTen had taken the most damage. Ino had realized when TenTen had pushed her in vain towards the door that she had to get out, so she'd gotten to the lower level just in time. She'd escaped the bomb, waited out the fire, and walked over to us when she saw us all grouped in the parking lot.

Now, it was like she had never been gone.

It was like _we_ had never been gone.

It was like Temari and Shikamaru had never broken up.

But of course, I still had a scar that could never go away, and _none_ of them would forget about it. I could feel the tenderness in their speech, their gaze, they were all scared to say something that could affect me if I happened to be too sensitive.

But besides that, it was almost…normal…

I watched everyone as they mingled among each other. Naruto was feverishly talking to Hinata, not letting her get a word in, not that she seemed to mind; she just smiled and nodded, looking like she was about to faint any second from all the blood going to her blushing face. TenTen was chatting with Ino, the two going through Temari's CD's. Temari and Shikamaru were still in the bedroom, and I really didn't feel like interrupting them, judging by the sounds coming through the door (_"Right there, oh yeah!"_), and Neji was trying to get Sasuke off of his shoulder as he looked at all his different knives and commented on how he was going to steal them some day.

At first, I had on the usual exasperated, grumpy expression.

Because that was me, wasn't it?

But…

I was smiling as the day slowly turned to afternoon.

Just yesterday morning, I'd been fighting the impossible. Now, I had won the possible.

And Hinata and TenTen were happy. _That_ was all that mattered.

"…and we can dress you guys again, and we can…!" Ino was suddenly ranting about what she could do with TenTen, Hinata and I now that everyone was back together. "Oh, that'll be fun, we can take you guys for rides again, maybe bowling one more time, that was funny…the movies will be _amazing_, you guys would be _so_ much fun in a horror movie!" Ino kept on going. She really hadn't changed. She refused to speak of all she'd experienced with Sai, and got a strange, sad look on her face whenever it was mentioned, so we gave up and saved _that_ conversation for another time. But she accepted the fact that she was back in the gang by force, and she didn't seem to mind. In fact, she was ecstatic…

"Oh, I just can not _wait_ to go on another ride with Temari-chan, it'll be _so_ much fun, oh but I have to wait till she and Shika-kun stop having sex, hee-hee." Ino giggled and placed a finger to her chin, and I smiled. She was still just as ditsy and cutesy as ever. Did she ever give up?

"Oh! And you'll be able to go to _school_ again!"

Everyone's heads snapped up at that, but Sasuke said, before I could rejoice and TenTen could complain, "No."

TenTen and I paused, then TenTen grinned. "Uchiha! Welcome to my wavelength!"

"What?!" I cried.

"No," he repeated, not looking at me but down at his knees, his voice stern. "Ino, you can go back. TenTen, Hinata, you can go back." TenTen groaned and Hinata tilted her head to the side.

"What…are you getting at, though…?" Hinata asked hesitantly.

I was staring at Sasuke, open-mouthed and appalled. I couldn't _believe_ what he was implying!

"Sakura…I'm not letting you near Kabuto."

It was silent, then TenTen said very bluntly, "Three. Two. One."

"YOU'RE COMIN' WITH ME, CHISEL-CHEST!"

"Ch-Chisel-chest…?!" Sasuke stuttered, bewildered, as I strode forward, grabbed his arm, and pulled him forcefully, and very violently, out of the room. (To Ino's applause, TenTen calling "You'll probably fall asleep arguing, so goodnight!")

I got to the closet at the end of the hall, shoved us both inside, slammed the door, turned around to face what I could see of him (it was very dark), and slapped him sharply on the arm. "What is your problem?!" I demanded, shoving a finger into his chest.

He stared down at me, seeming confused. "What…?"

"Why are you treating me like some sort of…of helpless _child_?!" I cried angrily. "You're protecting me, and yeah, I appreciate that, but this is _out of hand_. I can't even go to _school_?!" Sasuke said nothing realizing what I was saying. "Sasuke, I _live_ for learning! I'm actually trying to have a _future_, despite being in a gang and staying in this sack of a city! I want this all to just _end_ so I can do what I came here to do; get a scholarship and _leave_!"

"You'd like that?" Sasuke asked, frowning. "Leaving Konoha?"

I stared at him, then realized something and backed away from him. I pressed my fingers to my lips. "Um…"

"Leaving me?"

My heart beat was accelerating, pounding against my chest as he looked away from me.

'_Wait…is he __**looking away from me**__?!_'

I frowned and reached out to grab his face with my hands. There was no way I was going to let him ignore me. "Sasuke, _look_ at me!" He turned to do so, and my fingers tightened on his cheeks. "Listen! I was kidding, alright?! I was just over-exaggerating, that's _never_ going to happen, okay?!"

He watched me. "It…isn't…?"

"No! I'm not leaving your gang, or you, or anyone, alright? I could never do that to TenTen and Hinata anyways." I smiled a bit. "I'm staying right here. But that doesn't mean you can treat me like a burden to the state. I can take care of myself now, Sasuke, and you know that. You can protect me, in fact I'd be happy if you'd protect me, but know that nothing is going to happen to me again." I looked straight into his eyes. "I don't blame you for what happened to me, Sasuke…" I whispered. "I know we've both had experiences where we blame ourselves for something, but we forget not everything has to lye on our shoulders." I stroked his cheek consolingly. I had never been this close to him before, but for some reason, it felt right.

"We don't have to bear all the pain…" I murmured. "We can…share it…"

Our lips connected without me even thinking about it. His lips were cold and firm, soft and gentle, and they molded into my own perfectly, feeling nice as I closed my eyes and we started to pull ourselves into each other's arms.

It wasn't my first kiss.

But it was my best.

Unfortunately, it seemed I was a little too strong. He was pushed a little, and the two of us, still connected but slightly surprised, stumbled backwards, and I felt myself get pressed tightly up against his body. His hands were very low around my hips, and he removed them quickly, letting them rest, however, gently just beneath my neck.

That's when, as we parted lips and stood in each other's arms, so close we could barely breathe, we realized our situation.

We were in a dark empty closet, alone, with the others in the living room – who were probably going to be there for a while - thinking we were going to argue each other to sleep.

"Sasuke…" I whispered. His eyes were huge. My heart was racing, and his fingers on my collarbones suddenly sent shivers down my spine. I could barely speak, and both of our breaths were hampering. I swallowed hard to clear my dry throat. "You know…you'd make me feel better about myself…" I breathed boldly, my fingers trailing to the collar of his shirt as my eyes got lost in his.

His breath hitched when my fingers tugged on his shirt almost childishly. I pressed into him, closer, closer… "You want this…?" he murmured, eyes scanning mine somewhat excitedly.

"…I don't know…" I responded breathily, feeling scared and confused, but acting on impulse.

But he smirked, suddenly a new sly tone in his eyes. "But you're not a virgin, Sakura." My heart nearly stopped when his hands rested on my hips. His lips trailed to my ear, and he whispered, his breath so warm that I nearly melted in his arms, "That means you won't scream…"

In a second he'd kissed me so hard that I knew my lips were going to bruise. I gasped, and he took advantage of that. His tongue dived into my mouth. I'd never felt anything like that before, and as his tongue massaged every inch of my mouth I couldn't help but respond, my tongue pressing into his and tangling with it. Soon enough I let out a moan, and that seemed to just drive him crazy. He turned me around and slammed me against the wall.

"S-Sasuke…" I gasped as his hands roamed my body hungrily. The push had hurt, but the pain was starting to turn to pleasure. I groaned, and gasped, "S-Sasuke-kun!", as one of his hands very lightly squeezed my butt. "I don't think we should…" But my hands grabbed his shirt and pulled it over his head quickly despite my words, feeling greedy and rough.

"Alright," he said breathlessly, pulling my shirt over my head as well and returning to my lips.

"We shouldn't…!" I said between heavy breaths and wet kisses. But I moaned again when his hands fondled my bra and began to remove it beneath my shirt while the other hand continued to massage my behind. Lower, I was starting to feel hot and wet. "We shouldn't…!"

"Okay," he said, but we continued. One of my legs unconsciously wrapped around his waist, wanting to increase the pressure, and I moaned even louder when his lips found my neck, throwing my head back so he could access my skin better, so he could trail sloppy kisses across my collar bone and throat and all the way across my jaw then back to my lips. My hands clenched onto his bare back, nails digging into his skin as I bit my lip to suppress more sounds coming from my mouth, only resulting in a strangled mewling sound that resounded in my throat.

"Sasuke, I don't want…" But my other leg circled around his waist and his hands groped my back, holding me up against the wall as he kissed me furiously. I didn't mean to, but I bucked my hips against him. "I don't want to…"

"Yeah…" And then, as he panted, his hands found a very dangerous spot lower on my body that made me forget all sense, fingers slipping somewhere soft and forbidden that sent me tumbling out of all sanity.

"S-Sasuke…!" I cried, and my hands ran along his chest, feeling his muscles, his shoulders, then grabbing his hair and tightening the fingers there as I felt motion down below, groaning, and he kissed along my collarbone, only accelerating the feelings that drove me crazy. "…S-Sasuke, I don't want to…Sasuke…please…!"

He murmured in my ear, though, and how his lips got there so suddenly I'd never know, "Tell me what you want. The _truth_…"

"I want _you_, Sasuke."

He paused just a moment, which made me clench my teeth against his neck, and so he whispered, "Got it…"

In a blur, the rest of our clothes were being torn off. And through the moans and groans, the pants and huffs, the sweat and skin, and the zips and rustles, I could hear, overall, _our_ love, resounding in our own method, as I was yet again stripped of innocence, or maybe it was a need or a want. Either way, I was stripped of something, and this time it _didn't_ feel wrong.

It felt _good_.

**T**e**n**T**e**n

I'd fooled myself into thinking that I didn't miss this as much as I did.

"Okay! Okay you…- _huff - _…you win… - _pant - _…!" I cried breathlessly. I leaned over, hands on my knees, as Neji paused, watching me. We were alone together in the backyard doing the one thing we hadn't done in half a year.

Training.

I knew it was the bond between us that we were practicing. It was the trust, the way we knew we could hurt each other without really damaging each other, could insult each other without really scarring each other. It was trust, the thing Sasuke had mentioned as we carved each other's names into each other's palms. It was trust, the thing that I'd been thinking about as I took Neji's last name and used it as my own.

And, of course, I could trust Neji to do the unexpected.

"Ack!" I was thrown onto the ground as Neji yet again punched me in the stomach. I groaned as I rolled onto the grass and over onto one knee, facing him warily. "I said…you…win…!" I cried.

"You've forgotten that I don't care," Neji said simply, shrugging. "There is no winning, you've probably realized by now, in a real fight."

"I know…that…- _pant - _…but this isn't a real fight!"

"And what makes it not a real fight?" He was at me in a second, and I cried out, flipping away on my hands so I could avoid another punch that slammed into the ground and cracked the very soil. He looked over at me as I breathed heavily, and he straightened up again, calm as ever. "This is a very real fight."

"Y-You've been improving too, h-haven't you?" I asked, laughing through my breaths as I straightened up as well.

"What do you think we've been doing for half a year while Orochimaru's running around our own town?" Neji asked, raising an eyebrow and advancing slowly. I backed away, and we walked very slowly in a circle, sizing each other up. "We've been training harder than ever. And since you've improved, I figured I wouldn't take it easy on you anymore. I'm giving you all I've got right now, and maybe a bit more, so you'd better-" I blinked. He'd disappeared, and I heard his voice in my ear from behind, "- be ready."

I felt myself fall into his arms suddenly, going completely limp, and I blinked in surprise when I got my feeling back and he was holding me up, smirking. For a second, the world had turned white. "Wh…What…?"

"You've just experienced my specialty," Neji said simply. "The Hyuuga specialty, that is."

I blinked, then opened my mouth in surprise as I remembered.

_I caught my breath and straightened up, groaning. "Oww…that hurt…And here I was thinking you were going easy on me."_

"_I was." he said, defensives up immediately, straightening up as well and narrowing his eyes._

_I laughed. "Yeah right! I bet that's the best you can do!"_

"_Not at all." he said. "I can do worse. I do have a specialty in gentle fist after all."_

"_What? Gentle Fist? What's that?" I asked curiously._

_He smirked. "Why don't I show you?"_

_I backed away as he advanced. "Hey, what are you gonna do…?"_

"_Stay still, I'm not going to hurt you. I'm just going to show you a fighting technique. It's simple." I stopped, and he suddenly took my arm and laid it out straight. With that, he took two fingers and jabbed my shoulder. I winced at the harsh, sudden contact, and then I felt my arm flop. His smirk widened a bit and he held up my arm, which just hung limply._

"_Wh…What did you do…?! I can't feel anything…!" I asked, staring at my arm and trying desperately to move it._

"_I shut off your nerves from your shoulder down to the tips of your fingers." he said simply. "It's a Hyuuga technique. It's called Gentle Fist because it's so subtle, but it's so affective. I could have turned off your entire body's nerves if I wanted to, and you wouldn't be able to move."_

"_Whoa…" I gazed in awe at my arm which he held up, a bit of a grin on my face. "That's amazing…!"_

_He nodded almost proudly. "Not many people can use it. But those who can are deadly. It's also pretty effective in turning people like Naruto off…"_

"You..used Gentle Fist on me…?" I asked slowly.

"Yup. This time on your whole body. But I reversed the effect immediately." Neji dropped his hands from my shoulders. "You okay?"

"Y-Yeah…" Yet again, I could feel a strange tingling sensation through my body. I remembered Neji said it wasn't supposed to feel like that. I wondered what was so different about me…

"I think that taught you a lesson."

I glanced at Neji. "What lesson?"

"Try harder."

"Very creative," I muttered darkly. I sighed, glancing up at the tree. "Huh. We haven't climbed that in a while, have we?"

"No, we haven't, and I don't want you to right now." I looked back up at him, seeing his concerned face. "You've already been through enough. Right now, I say we go back in and relax."

I grinned. "Sounds great! You guys have any food?"

"Hey, TenTen, Neji!" I suddenly saw Temari standing in the open door. She wore Shikamaru's shirt (thankfully she had the decency to wear a bra), and some sweatpants, and her hair was down and slightly frizzy. I could imagine Shikamaru's smug, proud face at his creation. "Get your slacking asses inside, we're having brownies, on Hinata! It's party time!"

Neji and I glanced at each other, then followed her inside. "Party time for what?" I asked. "And where's Sasuke and Sakura?"

"Eh, probably sleeping," Temari said, shrugging and grinning away as she led us into the kitchen. I saw Naruto and Hinata in the living room as I went, cleaning up, Naruto still babbling a mile a minute to a beaming Hinata (she looked happier than I'd ever seen her), and I smiled and let them be as I watched Neji retreat to sit next to Shikamaru, who was soon smothered willingly, if that was possible, by Temari, and I skipped over to Ino and the tray of brownies.

"So you didn't answer my question," I said once I stuffed one in my mouth and let Ino chip the burnt chocolate off the sides of the pan. I turned to Temari. "What're the brownies for?"

Temari scoffed as she turned away from Shikamaru. "What the _hell_ do you think, you idiot?" I blinked innocently, and she sighed. "Our _return_ from the fucking _dead_!" She grinned and punched the air.

"Team Uchiha's back, baby!"

**X**X**X**X**X**

Amen? :D  
Re-Read & Edited while listening to: _S e l e n i c S o u l_ from _Soul Eater OST_.  
thanks for reading!  
xmarachanx


	32. Freedom

**Oh how it's been so long.**  
**I'm so sorry I've been gone.**  
**I was busy writing shit for – you.**  
**You don't have to worry 'cause I'm still xmarachanx**  
**I love messing with Panic at the Disco's lyrics. (:**  
_AnimeLover325, Music 1s my s0ul, LyricGirl16, Hikoru Aniki, Nerd4eva, MizChriztina, Antantique013, yeji301, Black Blood Blossom, KaitoKakashi, RedMapleLeaf, Sasu-Saku-cherryblossom, Pnkrockninja101, Metal-Blondie, waterdragonrai, StrawberrySmoothie99, Ichiko and Tenten, Lanalisha-Thezii, Tobi-obsessed, UcHiHaHyUuGa, Chigiri Sasaki, RisingTwinDragons93, 123PIKACHU, steffiepoo, XxkikiroxX, MidniteCurse4Eternity, Maya-chan2007, kimiko77, Dreaming101, mangamaniacgurl, xfucktheglasses, anthropomorphichybrid, kooliogrrl45, A d d i e, Tenten2295, SparkyCasper, , Reiki-Glaize97, bright-rebellious, XCrissCrossX, Setari, Epic Bunneh-sama, naruto watching freak, O.o Crazy Brunnette o.O_  
Next review asking me to 'UPDATE NOW!' will be slaughtered.  
NEW STORIES**: **April in Her Eyes, Growing Up Genin, Roll Party, French Vanilla, and Boomerang. Reasons for my disappearance.  
Enjoy!

**X**X**X**X**X**

**H**e**a**r **N**o **E**v**i**l  
_See no evil. Speak no evil._

**D**i**s**c**l**a**i**m**e**r: Oh emm eff gee, I don't own Naruto. :)  
**S**o**n**g: _Time Hollow_ by _Masanori Akita_

C**h**. **T**h**i**r**t**y **F**i**v**e – Ino's Freedom

_The air is still  
A path appears  
The choice is clear  
I'm finally here  
Safely back in your arms_

**T**e**n**T**e**n

There were a few days I never thought I'd look forward to.

My death, Sakura's death, Hinata's death, and the first day back at school.

And _that_ is why I was talking distractedly of the apocalypse as I climbed out of Temari's car.

Ino had been driving for once, which wasn't less insane than Temari's style. Meanwhile, Shikamaru and Temari had been making out in the trunk as Neji sat in the passenger seat while Naruto and Sasuke played mercy on the floor of the vehicle. I still wondered how they weren't flung all about as Ino laughed wickedly while swerving around cars like Cruella Deville.

And now, there it was.

Sakura, Hinata and I stood there in the parking lot for a while to appreciate it as the others got out and closed the car doors.

The same old two story brown brick building. Graffiti _everywhere_, the bricks chipping and the paint peeling off of the aging sign on the front lawn that stated the school's name in choppy, cheap letters: Konoha High School.

"Well…we're back," Sakura said uncertainly, shifting her bag on her shoulder.

I blew some stray bangs out of my face. We were in uniforms we'd borrowed from Ino and Temari. They fit us perfectly. But I still hated walking around in something so hideous. It wasn't like I was fashion-impaired, I loved cool-looking skirts and shirts. But no, I _had_ to wear a uniform here.

At least I could wear converse.

"I'm so glad we can still change schedules. Now I'm with Hinata-chan again for homeroom!" Ino cheered.

"That's right. Our schedule hasn't changed, has it?" Sakura asked, frowning thoughtfully. "We've only been gone half a year."

"Okay, let's…oh, sorry…" Sasuke's voice faded, and Sakura turned bright red as Sasuke quickly stepped away from her, after bumping into her back.

I looked between them. Ever since that night they'd fallen asleep arguing just as Ino and I had predicted, they'd been hesitant to get near each other. Every time they looked at each other they blushed.

Definitely weird. Definitely suspicious. I was _so_ not taking my eyes off of them.

"Okay! Let's get movin'!" Temari said with a grin, dragging Shikamaru along violently.

Sakura snapped back to normal and took a deep breath to calm herself. "Alright. I can do this. I can learn. It's not hard!"

"Heh, this is gonna be fun," I said happily. "I can skip class, step on the teacher's feet, and beat up anyone that tries to touch Hinata and Sakura!" I jumped on Sakura and let her shriek and stumble, skipping ahead of everyone else. "Let's do this!"

**x**x**x**x**x**

"TenTen! Hey, TenTen!"

This person was so going to get it. My name had been called today at least nineteen times, from a person that would only bother to ask me '_Why did you skip half a year_?', which was fun at first because I could think up some hilarious lie about getting some terrible disease that I still had (they would usually back away at that point). But it got annoying after a while. Not just because I was running out of ideas, but because it was the same question every time, and I got so sick and tired of it that this twentieth person to call my name was getting an earful.

"Would you shut up?! You're so god damn annoying, I swear! Why don't you go crawl back in the sewer and make some highly attractive friends, they might make you feel a little be-!" I stopped talking midsentence when I saw Sakura standing there in front of me, looking extremely ticked off.

"What was that?" she muttered.

I smiled guiltily. "Um, nothing, I was just…"

"No, really. I'd like to hear it."

"It's…No, I was just…It was stupid, um…" I coughed. "How's everything going?"

She sighed. "People keep giving me strange looks. I think everyone knows…what happened," she said, and I noticed she was telling the truth. We were in the hall, and it was fourth hour, the hour before lunch. I was on my way to Chemistry, and Sakura was with me. People that passed us stared, as if we were celebrities.

"Eh, either ignore 'em or point me towards 'em," I said with a grin. I watched her. "Where are you going next?"

"Chemistry," she replied, checking her schedule.

"No way!" I grabbed her arm excitedly. "Me too! With Kimimaro, right?"

"Yeah! Huh, that's strange." Sakura shrugged. "Well, I guess it's not too big of a surprise. It's our first day back, there's always a chance we might make it into the same class."

"This is so cool! I haven't been in the same class with you since back home!" I said with a laugh.

"Well let's not be late to it, idiot."

Ignoring the insult, I let her pull me painfully by the elbow into the Chemistry room. White and filled with black lab tables around the walls of the room, with wooden desks lined up in the middle. It had a sanitary smell to it, mixed with the odors of plastic gloves.

And that's when I spotted two people sitting in the back corner.

"Whoa, hey, we _all_ have the same Chemistry class!" I said loudly, interrupting the silence of the room. All the students stared at Sakura and I as I smiled happily and walked over to Sasuke and Neji, pulling an embarrassed Sakura with me.

Sakura and Sasuke stared at each other. "What are _you_ doing here?!" they asked simultaneously as Neji, cool as ever, just watched me plop down at the table next to him.

"Hey, it's our first day back. There's always a chance we could get into the same class," I recited cheerfully.

"That's what I said," Sakura muttered glumly, seeming positively horrified.

I frowned. "Sit, Saki!" I ordered, slamming a hand on the desk in front of me as Sasuke cleared his throat and fidgeted with his hair and his wrists.

She did so, but shakily and with frequent, nervous glances Sasuke's way. I was definitely getting sick of that.

"How's your day back been going?" Neji asked me conversationally as Sasuke and Sakura continued their awkward silence.

"Annoying," I muttered. "Everyone's treating me like a celebrity, look." I pointed to the three girls at the front of the row, glancing back at me and whispering under their breaths.

"I wouldn't give them too much attention," Neji said, watching them as well. "Everyone's just shocked that you bothered to come back at all."

"Well of course I did. All my friends are here, and you're here. I promised to be with you everywhere, right?" I said reasonably.

Neji stared at me, but he was unable to say anything because then a very attractive young, white-haired man entered the room. He was pale and had lovely eyes, slanted slightly upwards. I watched as he crossed to the center of the room and glanced our way.

His eyes met mine, and I had to resist a shiver. He reminded me of Haku, but in a less feminine way. It almost made me wonder where Haku was now.

"TenTen and Sakura Haruno, correct?" he asked. His voice was so quiet that, from the back, it was hard for me to hear him.

"Yup," I said casually. "Kimimaro, correct?"

Sasuke had to stop himself from laughing, and the rest of the class barely had the same self restrain he did, for I heard snorts and giggles erupt soon after that little unplanned outburst.

Kimimaro had no reaction, except a calm, "I see," and he turned his back on us.

Sakura turned around to glare at me. "You idiot!" she hissed as the sound of Kimimaro's marker tapping on the white board and the students' papers shuffling flittered around the room. "Are you trying to get us expelled from this school too?! Learn some manners!"

"Sakura, you've obviously forgotten what a class with me is like," I said under my breath, leaning back in my seat and propping my feet up on her chair. "You're gonna have to get used to it."

Sakura grit her teeth furiously and turned around again with a huff, and I looked sideways at Neji to see his reaction. He just looked amused, before turning away to text on his phone under his desk. Sasuke was sleeping. Sakura was busy copying notes from the person next to her, to get started, as Kimimaro continued.

Everything was so bland and dreary, I noticed as I looked around. So boring.

And I knew it was _my_ job to lighten things up.

"TenTen, take your notes," Kimimaro said suddenly, whipping around.

I blinked in surprise as all eyes turned to me, heads craning over their shoulders the minute their ears heard my name spoken in that soft voice. '_Does this guy have eyes in the back of his head?_'

"Um…'kay…" I looked to the side to see Neji's notebook and ripped a page out of it, grabbed the pen that stuck from his pocket (he spared me a brief confused glance), and began to write.

Definitely not the notes, but write I did.

And as I wrote, I looked over at Neji, and felt a smile tugging on my lips. He was playing around with that pocketknife of his under the desk.

He really was kind of cute sometimes, in a sad, scary kinda way. I noticed his eyes were slightly cross-eyed, distant and distracted as if he was thinking of something else, and they darted around with the motion of the blade that flashed with the sunlight filtering through the blinds of the dirty windows, casting splashes of light across his round cheekbones randomly.

For some reason, he seemed so innocent to me sometimes. I smiled for real, setting down my pencil to watch him as he continued twirling the knife between his fingers in complicated motions. It was as if he didn't even know what it was, or what it was used for.

'_What does he think about?_' I wondered, resting my chin in my palms. He lifted one hand up to pull some of his long, soft hair from his face. I wanted to run my fingers through that hair, and trail the tips of them across his cheek and down his nose. Stare into his eyes all day…

I laughed, just one small quiet exhale. '_I really missed him, didn't I?_' I thought, amused.

Hearing me, he glanced sideways and raised an eyebrow. I gave him a grin, and saw a bit of a smile tugging on his own lips, now. He passed the knife to me, obviously thinking I was interested in it. I took it, but didn't want to look away from him. So I didn't, and the two of us shared a larger smile, eyes searching the other's. I could see happiness, thoughtfulness, amusement, curiosity. All the feelings I really hoped he felt for me. Because I felt the same for him. I didn't know what it was. But I cared about him, that much was for sure.

And that was when I was reminded of something.

I remembered, from my old school days back at home in Kiri, the people sitting in the back of the classroom and looking at each other, passing notes back and forth and sharing secret smiles.

Flirting.

My eyes widened a bit, and I quickly pulled my gaze from Neji's face and down to the knife again, running one finger very slowly along the handle.

'_Are we __**flirting**__…?!_'

"TenTen, are you taking your notes?"

I couldn't help but jump in my seat, and my head snapped up. I hadn't noticed Kimimaro walking all the way over to my desk. "U-Um…Yep! Sure thing!" I lied with a huge fake smile, discreetly handing Neji's knife back to him.

"Good. I'll read them to the class, then," Kimimaro said.

My eyes widened. "U-Um, I don't think-!"

But he snatched the paper off of my desk, causing my pencil to go rolling away, and held it out. The entire class's attention was stuck on us now, and I bit my lip. "Hmm…Interesting. You took bullet points…" Kimimaro said, eyes narrowed.

"Heh…um…"

"Let's read them." Kimimaro cleared his throat as if he was about to read from the bible. "'Snow mobile.' 'Sock monkey.'"

I could see Neji trying not to laugh, and Sakura's mouth drop open in horror. Sasuke was already snickering away behind his hand, and I promised that he would find a bruise on his ass in three hours.

"'I wanna go home.' 'This class is so boring.' 'Sasuke's hair looks like someone sculpted it out of Play Dough.'"

Sasuke stopped laughing and turned around to stare at me, mouth agape in furious bewilderment.

"'That chick at the front of the classroom looks like a whore, I bet she put out at the age of thirteen.'"

Said girl, hair blonde and straightened and wearing the usual short skirt, although pulled up so her crack was showing, blinked, suspicious but not really knowing if I was talking about her.

"'Sakura's forehead is gigantic and she never bothers covering it up.'"

I gulped as Sakura cracked her knuckles slowly and dangerously, giving me the scariest glare I'd ever seen. Neji looked as if he was thoroughly enjoying himself.

"'And Kimimaro seems like such a dick.'" Kimimaro stopped reading and looked down at me.

"Eh heh…um…" I could find no response to his gaze.

He simply set the 'notes' down on the desk in front of me, leaned down, and said slowly, "That's Kimimaro-_sensei_ to you. _Maggot_."

As he straightened up and I lost the shivers, I came to realize that I definitely liked that guy. "Since you seem to be such a smartass," he continued. "Why don't you tell me something?" He suddenly leaned over me to a lab table, grabbed a Bunsen burner, and pulled it on its cord over to light it in front of my face. "Where does the light from a fire come from?"

I stared at him, at the flame flickering in front of my face and throwing shadows across his own. I frowned thoughtfully, putting a finger to my chin and puckering my lips in concentration. I could feel everyone's eyes on me, but I ignored them, because I could only think about Neji's…

Then, I smirked. No way was I gonna be an idiot in front of Neji!

I reached over and twisted the knob at the bottom to turn the Bunsen burner off. Kimimaro blinked as I crossed my arms easily. "Tell me where if went, and I'll tell you where it came from," I said steadily.

The entire class was speechless. But I glanced once at Neji, and proudly grinned up at Kimimaro again after I saw the fond smile on his face, the way his eyes swam with some gentle happiness.

And Kimimaro smiled as well. He suddenly took my pencil that had rolled onto the ground, grabbed my homework paper, and quickly scribbled _10/10_ on top.

My eyes widened, and my mouth fell open. "Whoa!" I grabbed the paper in astonishment as he straightened up and set the pencil down in front of me with a clack, placing the Bunsen burner back on the lab table. "That's the first full score I've ever gotten!"

"I believe it," he said in a monotone. "Congratulations. And remember to do your notes from now on, or face the punishment."

"Kay!" I couldn't stop the smile from creeping on to my face, even though I knew the trouble I'd gotten myself into and the people that were sure to annoy me to the bottoms of hell.

"Wow, TenTen!" Sakura turned around with a grin as I scribbled a sun around the _10/10_. "That was…" Her voice faded as she saw the doodle, then she glowered.

"Huh?" I asked, glancing up at her.

She just turned around again moodily, and I stared at the back of her head innocently. "What?!"

Despite all that, this was turning out to be a lot of fun.

'_I mean, it wasn't just that I'd missed this place. This place must have missed me. And I'm back, baby._'

**x**x**x**x**x**

Ino had forgotten about school. About lunch, about friends, and of course all about the boys (and sometimes girls) she could flirt with. She hadn't flirted in a while. She had been busy with Sai. Sai. Sai, Sai, Sai, that was _all_ she had thought about, and now she had a hard time thinking about _anything_ _but_ him. Even when she was gone.

She didn't go to any more classes after lunch, she didn't really bother. She could care less about learning shit. She had always been the 'girls just wanna have fun' kind of person. So, she lounged around outside Temari's classroom, perched precariously in a weak tree and watching her and Shikamaru exchange kisses and conversations in the back of the classroom through the dirty window.

'_They're so lucky,_' she thought with a smile. '_They're so in love._'

She wasn't. No, she would never be. Sai? Yeah right. He was…nothing. Nothing to her. Just someone terrifying that she thought could steal her heart. But who _could_ steal her heart? Someone attractive? She was sick of them. Sick of the model men walking around acting like they…

They…

'_Chouji…_'

She closed her eyes. The one person that had been kind to her through the half year that she had spent locked in Sai's abode like a prisoner. Yes, it was obvious Sai only wanted to protect her from Sasuke, from the short temper and the reckless decisions he was known for making. He wanted to protect her from Orochimaru. Did Sai love her? Yes, Ino was sure of it. But it wasn't romantic. It was something else. It was always something else, with them.

And she was always looking for someone else. Chouji. Chouji. Why couldn't she think of _him_ more? He wasn't perfect, no. He was fat, and not exactly attractive. But he was perfect for her. _That_ was perfect for her, because he had a sweet heart, a kind spirit, and a helping hand.

But Sai, Sai, Sai! Sai was sexy, Sai was cool and foreboding and mysterious, Sai was what _everyone_ wanted for her! What the world _needed_ for her. _Stay with Sai_, she could hear them all whisper to her every night she thought about Chouji and got a boiling, lusty craving in her stomach, every morning she daydreamed about holding his hand or kissing his cheek. Those voices murmured in her head every time she wanted him to fuck her, kiss her love her. _Stay with Sai, and we'll be alright, and you'll save us, Ino. You'll save the balance of the world._

_Stay with Sai, and we'll be safe. __**You'll**__ be safe._

"Safe…" she whispered.

"What?"

She twisted around and almost fell out of the tree. And of course, the two people that had to be at the bottom, staring up at her in confusion and, otherwise, stoic, were Sai and Chouji.

'_Of course…_' she thought bitterly as she positioned herself quickly into another one of her poised poses. "Well! It's two little school boys!" she sang, not appearing in the least bit alarmed or unnerved. "Why, I feel like a bird, stuck in a tree with hungry cats below!" She smiled down at them as they just continued to stare at her blankly.

"What were you thinking, when you said, 'Safe'?" Chouji asked again, seeming interested with a bit of amusement sparkling in one gentle eye. "About to rob a bank? I wouldn't be surprised."

"I wouldn't bother asking, Chouji," Sai said in a monotone. "She has a strange mind, that one."

"'That one'," Ino repeated to herself in a happy voice. "How absolutely charming you are Sai, just as usual!"

"Ino…" Chouji started, but she would not let him speak. She would be _damned_ if she let herself fall for one of his conversations, because she would surely get lost in his gaze. She could stand no chances of letting her darkest secret be told.

"See here, why don't you leave me alone? I'm spying on my friends, and I'd like some privacy if you please," Ino articulated greatly with implied reason.

"I'd like nothing better than to leave you be, although a spy shouldn't be talking of privacy," Chouji began, using her same tone of literacy and stiff tongue. "But unfortunately, I'm here on backup duty with Sai."

"Really? How _very_ interesting."

"Isn't it? And Sai needs to tell you something, so if you could kindly direct your attention to us _very interesting _folk for a minute or less, that will be all the time I predict we need," Chouji said, smiling playfully.

"Mmm, no thank you, a minute or less could be the time it takes to collect excellent blackmail material from these two, so if you'll excuse me-"

"Ino, I came to free you."

"…"

Ino had kept many secrets. She had kept Sai to herself. She had kept her betrayal to herself until she conducted it. And she had kept her secret longing to return to Temari and the others to herself. But never before had she encountered her two greatest secrets of all time.

Her lust and love for Chouji. And her lust and love for freedom.

And never before had anyone realized either of those…

_Let alone both…_

"…Free me…you say…?" she whispered, turning around yet again in the tree. She stared down at Sai, who had absolutely no expression on his face, and no hidden meaning in his eyes.

"Free you," Sai repeated, and began to recite, as a well trained robot would, "The conduct of the gangs in Konoha say that you can not leave until the leader of that gang has released you, if you may remember. So I release you from my gang. From my sight. From my life."

"From your life?"

"From my life. You're free to do what you want now. Run away with Uchiha's reckless gang, cross the borderline between right and wrong. You can prance around all day at school like a five year old girl. You can get captured by Orochimaru for all I care anymore."

Ino stared down at him. There was a lie in his voice that she could detect clearly. No. No, she knew. No, he wasn't really letting her go. He was passing her on…

Because he could not really let her _not_ be safe. So he was going to say something else and she knew it, and she _had_ to coax it out of him.

"…But…?" she prodded slowly.

"But…" Sai agreed quietly, and he glanced at Chouji, who looked up at her with that same old smile she was desperately trying to avoid. "You will be under the watch of Chouji, who is under my command to protect you. Do you understand?"

"…I understand…"

She did understand. Yes.

But she could still remember what TenTen had said to her one day. Something she had remembered as she lay in her fake bedroom at Sai's hideout. She could still hear TenTen's voice echoing in her head…

_"I think she was being __sarcastic__." _

She could still hear her confused reply.

"_No I wasn't."_

And she could still see TenTen's smile, hear her laugh, remember her final decision.

"_Oh, that's right. You're Ino."_

It seemed Ino was still not free. So why did it seem like she was flying? It felt like she had wings. Like a butterfly. Doing what it wanted, going where it wanted, with nothing holding it down. Beautiful. _Free…_

Goodness, could love really free her that easily? She was getting so soft.

"My, what a shame!"

But she was smiling brilliantly, and she felt happy. Yes, she knew she was feeling very happy.

"_Oh, that's right…"_

For the first time in a long time.

_"__**You're Ino.**__"_

**T**e**n**T**e**n

I sighed contently, pulling my fluffy white towel a little closer. My hair was twisted around me, dripping wet, and steam puffed around the room in little wisps of warm molecules. I'd desperately needed that long, hot shower. The school day had been hectic, to say the least. First, Sakura came running into the middle of my class yelling her head off about how Ino had fallen out of a tree and broken her arm. Then, as Sakura fixed it up, scolding Ino for making the whole gang miss the middle of class (they'd all come as soon as they got the text, probably – unlike Sakura – desperate for a reason to escape their lessons), Ino started singing '21'st Century Breakdown' by Green Day at the top of her lungs, and we got kicked out of school as a result by a very annoyed Kimimaro.

But that meant that, finally, we all got to go 'home', and I called dibs on the shower immediately after fighting a bit with Neji in the back yard.

'_How refreshing…_' I smiled, carefree, and placed a finger on the mirror. It was fogged up from the steam and incapable of reflecting my face back to me.

As I stared at it, bored, I moved my finger down to form a 'T'. I began to draw my name in the fog, seeing bits and pieces of my face as I revealed the metal behind the accumulation.

As I finished the last 'n', I thought to myself about the situations I'd been through. For some reason, it didn't seem…_real_. It was as if we weren't _really_ back. It wasn't _really_ normal anymore. I remembered all the times I'd had with these people, how I wouldn't trade those memories for anything. But would I trade everything to live those times again?

But there was still that feeling that I could always make everything better. Sure, things were different. But I could work with that.

I felt a smirk coming on as I suddenly pressed my finger to the metal again. It swooped slowly and almost unconsciously to form an 'H', and then a 'y'.

I was still _me_. _That_ hadn't changed.

I smiled as I stepped back to see 'TenTen Hyuuga' written in the fog on the mirror, seeing my face in the spaces that the metal glinted through.

Excited, I grinned at my reflection and remembered Temari's words, realizing suddenly the truth of them. "_Team Uchiha's back, baby!"_ I remembered the feelings that swept over my heart whenever I looked at Neji's face, and the smiles he gave me whenever I impressed him with anything. I remembered Kimimaro's 'lesson'.

_"Tell me where the fire went, and I'll tell you where it came from."_

_"You pass."_

I was still _me_. And _I_ had always been TenTen Hyuuga. Since the day I met him.

**x**x**x**x**x**

"Orochimaru, I would like to quit your services."

"You know the punishment, Kimimaro."

"I am ready to accept the consequences of my actions."

"Why are you willing to die, Kimimaro? Even if you do make it out of here alive, I'll only hunt you down and slit your throat myself."

"I've found something worth death."

"There is no such something."

"There is such a someone."

_'TenTen. I believe that the fire burns because you make it._'

**X**X**X**X**X**

Since it's been forever, I'll get you up to date: **I HATE TWILIGHT**. Or in other words, Twatlight. The idiots that call themselves Twi-hards are Twi-_tards_. So let me make this very clear: Please no more reviews saying, "omg ths rimndz mi uf twilight!", or I just might have to kill you. I understand that thirteen year old girls find a vampire that sparkles and beats people during sex dangerously fascinating, but I unfortunately find it a sickening piece of naivety to be the center of a temporary obsession. Besides, Harry Potter kicks its ass, and Robert Patinson looks like an axe murderer with a brick in his forehead. This is truth, if you think it's not you're in denial but I might love you anyways. :)  
Re-Read & Edited while listening to: _We're So Starving _by _Panic at the Disco_.  
thanks for reading!  
maravelous(xmarachanx)


	33. Lotus Tears

**READ IF YOU'RE A SASUSAKU FAN:** I've settled on a pairing decision that will probably make most of you furious. _I know_ I've made a promise, but I've decided to let it down for reasons of my own. **If you'd like to ask questions about it, or even argue about my pairing preferences, specifically in this story, PLEASE PM ME**. I'm always up for a good explanation and a _friendly_ argument (we're going to keep this civil if we can). **SO, HERE'S YOUR WARNING: IF YOU ARE UTTERLY AGAINST _SASUKARIN_ AND/OR _LEESAKU_, I WOULDN'T READ THIS STORY ANY LONGER.** I do hope the majority (er, it's probably a minority actually, but that makes us special) of you that are mature enough will continue to appreciate and read this story! :)  
Enjoy!

**X**X**X**X**X**

**H**e**a**r **N**o **E**v**i**l  
_See no evil. Speak no evil._

**D**i**s**c**l**a**i**m**e**r: Oh emm eff gee, I don't own Naruto. :)  
**S**o**n**g**s**: _Let It Rock_ by _Kevin Rudolf_ and _Everchanging_ by _Rise Against_

**C**h. **T**h**i**r**t**y **S**i**x **– The Tears of a Lotus

_I see your dirty face  
High behind your collar  
What is done in vain  
Truth is hard to swallow_

**S**a**k**u**r**a

I was skipping class.

This was - for being part of a gang that had forced me to skip school for half a year - not a huge deal. But for me to be doing it _willingly_ and _on my own_…

I was, officially, depressed. To be too sad to go to Chemistry, the place I _loved_ to be, where I was finally doing the thing I was _meant_ to be doing…This wasn't good news.

I'd read about depression. It was, indeed, an illness. And it raked your brain for days, months, years, until it had whittled you down to a trembling, pathetic core, never to see-

"Eek!" I swatted quickly at the fly that had landed on my knee, and groaned, holding my head in my hands. Why did I have to choose the cafeteria? It was the most disgusting and unsanitary place in the entire school, other than the bathrooms. It seemed that ever since Shizune had left, the whole school had gone to the dogs.

And since I'd come back, all I'd accomplished was…

I couldn't believe it. I still couldn't believe it. I couldn't even think it.

I clenched my teeth, deciding I needed to get it out.

"He…_fucked _me…"

"…"

"…Oh my god…did I just say that?!"

It felt like a dirty word on my tongue, and as I washed my mouth out with my water bottle frantically and accidentally splashed my lap with it, I pushed all thoughts out of my head. All the dirty memories. The way our voices and breaths, hushed and fast, would never stop. The way the dark of the closet enveloped me. The way he felt inside of me…

"No!" I cried, shaking my head furiously. "No, no, no! It didn't happen! I've convinced myself it…_didn't happen_!"

I couldn't be thinking about things like that, it was _sick_…

But damn, did it feel good…

I groaned and hid my face with my hands. "This can't be happening…" I mumbled.

"_SAKURA-SAN_!"

I jumped about a foot off the scummy cafeteria table I sat on the edge of, and stared at a blur of green that rushed through the cafeteria doors, which banged open. Then a familiar, smiling face skidded in front of me, and all bad thoughts were swept out of my mind as I cried happily, "Lee!"

"I heard you were back, but I didn't know when you were coming back to _school_!" Lee declared, looking positively ecstatic. "I see you are skipping class as well!"

I laughed and hopped off the table to give him a quick squeeze, which seemed to melt him. "It's wonderful to see you!" I said honestly. He was definitely the person to lighten up a day, and definitely the one to distract me from troubling thoughts. "How have you been?"

Lee suddenly drooped significantly. "Dreadful. Not better off than the rest of the city."

"What do you mean?" I asked, raising an eyebrow and sitting back on the table. I patted the spot next to me invitingly, and he sat down hesitantly. "I mean, I know all about Orochimaru and everything, but nothing really seems to dampen your spirits, ever."

Lee stared at me. "Ever since I heard what had happened to you, I've been feeling terrible, and half the school as well." I blinked in surprise. Not only was the news startling, but he had just talked about…_it_, and so _easily_. He was the first one to do that, and it was so..._refreshing_. "Why," he continued, "Karin hasn't been able to sleep, she still thinks everything's her fault!"

"What?" I asked. "Why would it be her fault? I mean, she's known for being…impulsive, and three girls on her team were working with him, but she isn't evil, and she never had anything to do with Orochimaru."

"I'm sorry to inform you that you're wrong, Sakura," Lee said gravely. "Although she is indeed a wonderful person, and in the least bit has she bad intentions…" I begged to differ, remembering the way she almost very nearly killed me. "…she once lived under Orochimaru."

"Wh…What?" I asked. "No…That's wrong, Lee, she never said anything about that. I never _heard _anything about that, not from _anyone_."

"Then they've only been keeping secrets from you," Lee said with a sad sigh. "Not that I'd blame them. I do not like to taint your mind with awful things. But you've already been tainted by evil hands, Sakura, and it serves your best interests to know the truth."

"…Yes…But of course, it's _gangs_…" I said slowly. "How I can expect _gang members_ to tell me anything honest?"

"Oh, you can," Lee said seriously. "For instance, I can tell you the truth right now!"

"But it can't be the truth," I said. "Karin was raped by Orochimaru, right? She was one of the first, right? How could she have once lived under him?"

"That is the whole point," Lee said. He adjusted himself on the table to face me, and I did the same for him. "See, people said that when Orochimaru left Konoha, he stole a young girl from her house."

"…Karin…" I said slowly, beginning to understand.

Lee nodded. "Karin. She was raised by Orochimaru, and stayed with him elsewhere, until she was raped."

"By who?" I asked, voice hushed. "One of his men?"

"No," Lee said softly. "While it's true that his men are the ones that do the raping…" I liked how he wasn't nervous around me while talking about that. It was as if he could sense that I didn't want people to avoid any subject just because of me, that didn't help me forget. "…He raped her, himself."

"…But he was her…father," I whispered.

"Yes," Lee said sadly. "He was her father. And he raped her."

"That's terrible! I…I didn't know…" I said, eyes widening. No wonder Temari, Ino and Matsuri trusted Karin so much.

"Yes, it is terrible," Lee said with a sigh. "I remember when I found her…"

"…Wait…you…" I said uncertainly.

Lee turned to me, and gave me a beaming, grim smile.

"I found her."

My heart seemed to stop, and I didn't know why. And then it started again, the beat rapid and unsteady.

"Sasuke was there as well. We found her lying on the ground after running for days, having finally escaped her father. And we helped her. Along with Ami of course, but she was only in it for the fame and fortune." He laughed sadly, and the sound was like music, like bells and wind chimes. "She has been in my debt ever since, she ever so insists. I don't mind. She's a nice girl, Karin. She would have done anything for Ami, until she heard that it was Ami, Kin, and Tayuya in the first place that had caused what Orochimaru did to her. She's been stuck on protecting Sasuke ever since as well, though, she does anything in her power to keep people away from his team."

I felt numb, my stomach seemed to be filled with ice. And my heart was fluttering like a butterfly.

So that was why. That was why she'd done that to Temari, to Ino, to me and Hinata. Because Ami had told her to. And because it was only a game to her, wasn't it? In the real scheme of things, she was…

…harmless…

Why? Why didn't I know, of anything? So many good people in the world, and so many unappreciated people just the same. And all of them hadn't had a chance to speak! I hadn't had the chance to help them, as well. To hear their story, to_ listen_…

"So Sakura…" Lee said with a strange look my way. "If you're ever feeling guilty, or dirty, remember one thing; yes, it's terrible. But there is always someone that's going to come along to help you, sooner or later. It's terrible. But not as terrible as a lot of things. If there's beauty in it, anywhere, then in the end it wasn't so terrible after all, right?"

_"I will not let you lay a hand on this beautiful cherry-blossom any longer!"_

_"We don't have to do this anymore if you don't want to."_

_"We're not leaving you now, Sakura. Not for a second, not for a minute, not ever."_

"Right."

**H**i**n**a**t**a

It was almost a habit that I came to realize what TenTen was going to say before she said it. It was almost a curse, really. Not a nuisance. But…a definite curse.

"Hinata! I think-!"

"Something's wrong with Sakura, but you don't know what, and you think I might know," I finished automatically for her.

She stared at me, then smiled. "Yeah!" I supposed she must have gotten used to the idea as well. "So? Do you?"

"No," I replied honestly, and when she immediately seemed significantly disappointed, I felt a little guilty and said, "But…I have an _idea_…" I could never resist that face.

We were walking up to the house after being dropped off by, and recovering from, Ino's insane driving, TenTen and I lagging behind the others. She frowned now, and faced forward, watching Neji pushing Naruto off of him quite violently. "I think it might be the same idea as mine…" she said softly under her breath.

"That is?"

"She's…" TenTen screwed up her face, as if she tasted something rotten. "She's…"

"Watch them now," I interrupted her, seeing as she wasn't getting anywhere. We both did. The two were walking in front of us, and Sakura kept glancing at Sasuke in a sickly, embarrassed way. He looked a little confused. I couldn't blame him. She went from violently mistrusting him to acting like he was part of her evil plan to rule the world, and in less than a couple hours! I wondered what had happened to her today…

"_Weird_," TenTen whispered. "That's what she is. She's fucking _weird_!"

I had to agree with her. "I don't understand…" I said softly to TenTen, holding onto her sleeve. "Does she need help? Or should we leave her alone?"

TenTen stared after Sakura, and I suddenly saw a strange look in her eyes. "I don't know…But if she does need help…I don't think she should look to us…"

I blinked in surprise. "…What?" TenTen wasn't usually like this. Normally, she'd be running over and demanding to protect Sakura from everything on the earth. But this was…

"Because…" TenTen said, and I saw something else in her eyes…She knew something. She knew something I didn't, and my heart was suddenly being tugged at suspiciously. "Because…we can't help her…"

I stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. TenTen kept walking, as if she already knew this was going to happen. And maybe she did. Maybe she knew it all. And…that wasn't…that wasn't right. Something was wrong. Something was definitely wrong. TenTen knew something I didn't?! No, _no_, that hadn't ever happened before. Never…

I…I knew everything, didn't I…?

But if I knew everything…why wasn't TenTen ever depending on me? Why was it always me, that was depending on TenTen?

Why wasn't Naruto taking me back…?

_'What's going on…?_' I thought, feeling frightened as I stared after Sakura and TenTen.

"Ola!"

Everyone's heads snapped up, and we all stared at two people in the doorway.

Matsuri, hanging onto one side of the frame with one hand and waving wildly with the other, a grin on her face.

And Karin, leaning on the other side of the frame, and looking down directly at Sakura.

My eyes widened.

_'What's going on?!_'

**S**a**k**u**r**a

I had convinced myself at last that I was going to try it with Sasuke. At least..._try_ a relationship.

It hadn't taken longer than I thought. It was just Lee, just that conversation I'd had with Lee about Karin. I'd remembered how Karin had acted around Sasuke, for Sasuke, and I'd decided, what way to thank him other than that? I'd officially dedicated myself to him.

Except that I didn't know_ this_ was going to happen…

It was probably the most awkward situation I'd ever encountered in my entire life. I sat, TenTen squashed between me and Hinata, on a sofa. Ino and Matsuri were perched dangerously on the back of it, holding each other's hands and giggling about something they were gossiping to each other in a whisper. Temari was on Shikamaru's lap in Sasuke's chair, and Sasuke and Neji were sitting back to back, Naruto not too far away from them, on the floor.

And Karin was sitting, one leg crossed over the other, on the coffee table across from me, Kankerou and Gaara on the other sofa. Karin was looking me over, I could tell. And she just wouldn't stop…

"You guys aren't going to tell us why you're here, are you?" Neji muttered, seeming very annoyed as Sasuke played with some of his hair over his shoulder distractedly, Neji letting him.

"No sir!" Matsuri chirped from behind me. "We're terrible, aren't we?"

Karin sighed. "What she means to say, is what's wrong with coming over to have a chat with you guys? Speaking of that, Sakura." I twitched involuntarily at my name, but Karin gave me a friendly smile. "Can I myself have a quick little chat with you, in the kitchen? If you don't mind, that is."

I glanced at TenTen, who nodded at me encouragingly, and I nodded back and stood. If TenTen trusted her, then I could as well. Besides, what was the worst she could do to me in my own gang's hideout?

But then, I remembered when she'd actually snuck in, and dragged Hinata and I out into her car…

I bit my lip, but Karin was already moving towards the kitchen, and no one else seemed to be too wary of what was going on. So, I followed her. I glanced once over my shoulder, and saw Sasuke watching me on my way out. I blushed, but then stopped myself; he didn't seem interested, he seemed…nervous about something…

But he turned his head back to Neji, and I decided to ignore it. I walked into the kitchen and over to the table, leaning against it, and Karin closed the door behind her, then turned to face me. She was expressionless, and just stared at me for a while.

I watched her. She was dressed out of her school uniform; she must have been skipping today. She was wearing tight short shorts, a tank, and nothing else, showing off her perfect body. I found myself jealous of her suddenly. She was so rounded and curvy, while I was flabby and thin.

But Karin wasn't looking me over, she was just staring at my face as if contemplating something. I bit my lip, getting a little nervous; it was like she had X-ray vision, and she could see through me. I felt very vulnerable under her gaze.

Finally, she heaved a sigh. "Sakura, it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you, or anything. I'm not mad at you, I'm not scared of you. So no hard feeling, right?"

I nodded slowly. "R…Right."

She smiled, as if in relief. "Right. Although…" She leaned back against the door and looked up at the tiled ceiling. "This is going to be hard to say…"

I tilted my head to the side. "In that case, it's usually best to just get it out," I said simply.

She looked down at me, eyes wide in surprise, then she gave a short laugh. "Heh. True. As usual, you're sharp, aren't you?" I blushed at the compliment, and she stood up all the way. I suddenly saw her hand reach down to the hem of her shirt, and she lifted it up to show her stomach.

I stood up all the way too, startled, and saw the same scar that I possessed myself, a long slash across the stomach. But hers was worse. Much worse. It disappeared behind her shirt, probably all the way up to her breast. She smiled at me grimly, seeing my eyes traveling up the scar. "Yeah, you know. I'm sure you've heard by now what happened to me."

"Y…Yeah…" I said softly. My hand darted up to my own stomach, feeling my scar, but that obviously was the wrong thing to do. Something seemed to spark in Karin, and a fury glinted in her eyes. She let her shirt drop again, walked over to me, and slapped my hand, hard, away from my stomach.

"Don't touch it, you idiot!" she hissed at me. Eyes wide, I stared at her, feeling scared. I knew there was no way I could take her in a fight. She was a gang leader, and one of the most talented ones. She suddenly seemed so much taller than me, although she was only just as tall. Her anger was painful, I could almost feel it.

She continued in a dangerous undertone. "Sakura, you don't understand, do you?! You don't understand what you are."

"…Wh…What…?"

She stared right into my eyes. "You're a woman, Sakura," she said very clearly. "You are not a plaything. You're not some pathetic little idiot. I will not stand by while you feel so low, and useless, and stupid. I will not let anyone else hurt you."

"Wh-What are you-?"

"_Sasuke_, Sakura!" I froze, scared and curious.

I stared at her. Her eyes screamed at me, as if she knew something I did as well. "What about him?" I asked very slowly and warily.

She relaxed slightly, seeing she was getting somewhere. "I know what happened with you two, Sakura," she said. "And I know you think you did something wrong, but you're just going to go along with it, aren't you?" My heart wanted to stop, but it was beating so fast it was as if it was racing to beat Karin's to the death.

"H…H-How do y-you…?" I was beyond words. This girl, this one powerful girl, was going to make me faint just by talking, I knew it. It was almost worse than Temari, it was even more composed than Tsunade.

She was affecting me more than TenTen and Hinata combined.

"Because the same thing happened to me, Sakura," she whispered urgently, and I could see the desperation in her eyes to force me to believe her, listen to her, understand her. And, I was starting to…

"He…" I gasped.

"Yes," she said, grasping my hand suddenly, and I saw something else in those eyes; pain, fear, sadness, hurt, comfort, tears. Karin was crying silently and dryly, her eyes glittering and trying not to overflow. "He did the same to me. And do you want to know when?"

I couldn't respond. Everything was still sinking in. I was still hurting. I was still scared. I still felt numb all over.

Karin continued despite my lack of reply. "One month after you left," she said, with grim amusement. "Yeah. One month. I had come over to discuss something with him, saw him crying in his room, and tried to comfort him. And he…" She shook her head, backing up from me as if afraid she was emitting some sort of dangerous gas that would kill me if I inhaled it. "He'd never actually responded before, you know?" she said, teary-eyed. It was as if she was talking to herself, and for the first time..."I've always been…around him, and I've always cared about him, I've always…wanted him, but…not like that, never like that, he just…seemed to snap or something."

I had only once seen someone so great break down like this; I was suddenly reminded of when my mother had started crying about my father. She had been washing the dishes with me, and suddenly she'd just dropped to her knees on the cold kitchen floor, and sobbed. I hadn't said anything, just continued washing the dishes, although I could remember my own tears plopping into the soapy water. Tsunade had never cracked like that before, but she just did, and I could do nothing to help her.

But this time, I could walk over and grab Karin's hand again, feeling my own tears gathering in my eyes. "Karin…" I whispered sadly, and she flung her arms around my neck, hugging me tightly and crying very softly into my shoulder.

I could feel her tears wetting my uniform shirt, her hands fisting behind my neck, her shoulders shaking in grief, and I knew how she felt. I really did. I knew what she meant. She was truly the one person I hadn't expected this from, but she was truly the only person who knew how I felt.

And I was not going to let her cry any longer either. We were both woman. We were both not playthings, not toys, not someone to take anything more from.

I had thought before that there was nothing left to take from me, so I'd bent to the level Sasuke was at, and accepted him, even though he gave me nothing in return but pain and utter confusion and chaos. Now, I knew I was wrong.

There was a lot left. In both of us.

**x**x**x**x**x**

When Karin and Sakura had returned from the kitchen, their arms had been linked, and they'd absolutely ignored Sasuke, who was avoiding them as well like the plague. Then Karin had turned to Matsuri, and said, "Sakura and I have decided we all deserve a little girls' night out, darling."

And her response had been, "Perfect."

They were now all sitting in the living room, Uchiha's gang and the rest of them. Matsuri was sitting against Gaara's legs and Karin sitting against the bare sofa next to her. The girls were deciding what to do. Matsuri, as the others discussed what was open, was examining her fingernails distractedly, and she was thinking.

The revenge plan was coming soon. It was involving her, Karin, Gaara, and Kankerou only so far. But of course, there was one more person to add the bunch, but that was still to come. Karin would have to make sure of that.

She knew what Karin and Sakura had been talking about in the kitchen. And she knew why Karin had been talking to her about it. That was why they were here in the first place. Because, this could very well be the last chance any of them got…

"Oh, Matsuri, sweetheart, wasn't there a new movie playing?" Karin suddenly poked Matsuri's arm, and she was attentive immediately.

She grinned. "Oh yeah! That new chick flick, with Rain in it! Oh, we should go see that!"

"What?!" TenTen cried. "Eww, come on! That guy is only muscles and kisses, can't we see something rated R? Like, there's a new really cliché horror out, isn't there? About sorority sisters or something? That thing looks totally _bloody_!"

Temari smirked. "Now that is what I'm talking about. Who cares about some pop star?"

Sakura giggled suddenly, and everyone stared at her. She looked up, and smiled guiltily. "Eh…he's…he's really _pretty_, isn't he…?"

Ino squealed delightfully. "Ah, he is, he is! Oh, oh, what do you guys like the _most _about him?!"

"The muscles!" Karin said immediately.

"The hair!" Matsuri squeaked.

"The _tan_!" Sakura said lustily. (TenTen gave her a disgusted look.)

Ino smirked. "I like his-"

"Okay, okay, spare the innocent," Temari interrupted her. "Really, can't you people gather up the little dignity you have and-"

"I'll let you drive."

"I'm in."

"Temari!" TenTen cried, appalled at the girl's betrayal.

Temari laughed guiltily, standing and twirling her car keys on her finger. "Sorry, but really, I can't resist a chance to drive my car." She leaned down to kiss Shikamaru quickly, then barked, "Let's move, ladies!", and everyone jumped up.

TenTen turned to Hinata with a frown. "You'll stay here with me, right?"

But Hinata was already standing. Matsuri stood as well, watching, and Hinata said, her face turning very, very red, "I…I think Rain's eyes are…"

"Woo-hoo! You're totally in, Hinata! Come on!" Matsuri grabbed the girl's hand and pulled her out, but inside, she was feeling down. This could very well have been the last time she got to have fun with TenTen. And she didn't want to come.

And TenTen was the one Matsuri wanted to apologize to the most, because there was something she possed that Matsuri needed. And soon...

**T**e**n**T**e**n

I stared after Hinata, appalled, as she was pulled out the door, only able to say a very short farewell.

"But…!" I shouted. "Wait! Don't leave me with these-!"

The door slammed shut, interrupting me, and I turned to stare at the others. "…Boys…" I said, giving them a very fake and very nervous smile. I turned to glower down at my skirt. "Great…" I muttered.

"I don't see what's wrong with hanging out with us, you hang out with us every day," Neji said accusingly, and I looked up and laughed.

"Yeah, I guess so! So, what do boys do for fun around here?"

I was silent, then Naruto grinned.

**x**x**x**x**x**

"So, Mercy?"

"Okay!"

"What are we betting?"

"…Um…The last of the ice cream!"

"Okay! We're on!" Kankerou rolled up his sleeves across from me, and I grinned and placed my elbows on the coffee table that separated us on the floor of the living room. The other boys were all around us, lounging on the sofa or the floor, some of them placing bets between themselves on us. Kankerou raised his hands and we grasped each other's, fingers threading.

"Okay, go," Neji said, and we began, me twisting his arms, him twisting mine. We spent a while straining each other's wrists until I felt a strange crack coming from my elbow and squeaked, "Mercy!"

He grinned and sat back as I groaned sadly and massaged my arms. "More ice cream for me," he said, satisfied.

"Humph," I muttered, defeated. "Okay, I'm loser. Who do I go against?"

"Eh, I think it was loser to Neji," Kankerou said as he scooped the tub of ice cream to himself and glowered at said boy. "But that is, everyone is the loser to Neji."

Neji, seeming very content, just shrugged. "I can't lose in these kinds of things," he said simply. "That's all."

"Yeah, yeah. Who was the last loser to your _almighty reign_, huh, Hyuuga?" Kankerou asked.

"That would be Uchiha," Neji said with a smirk Sasuke's way, who rolled his eyes.

"You're telling me I have to go against _her_? Come on," he complained.

I glared at him. "Get down here, _Uchiha_," I said coldly. "I'm gonna incarnate you!"

"…What?"

"Oh come on, Sasuke, what are you waiting for?" Naruto asked with a grin, swooping out of the kitchen with a pop in his hand. "Are you scared?"

I smirked. "Yeah, am I too _scary_ for you?" I teased.

"Yeah right," Sasuke muttered, climbing down from the sofa and sitting across from me at the coffee table. "Arm wrestling," he suggested shortly. "And don't worry." He smirked slyly, and suddenly leaned forward across the coffee table. "I'll go easy on you," he said softly.

I only sat there and glowered, and he leaned back again. "So what are we gambling?" he asked easily.

Keeping my stoically infuriated expression, I said:

"Our pride."

Sasuke blinked in surprise as Shikamaru and Neji suddenly burst out laughing. Gaara did nothing, as he'd been doing all night, and Naruto and Kankerou just looked confused. "Our…pride…?"

"You heard her, Uchiha," Neji said, calming himself but smiling cheerfully. "It's your pride or hers. Get ready." I stared with narrowed eyes at Sasuke, placing my elbow on the table. He did so as well uncertainly, seeming a little nervous now. "Go."

I struggled to push my hand against him immediately, and his arm bent only slightly to the left before he took over in strength and began bending my own arm to the right.

I felt the strain on my already aching muscles, and bit my lip; I wasn't going to be able to hold out.

Then, a strategy came to me, but I kept my poker face. I let my strength go, all of it, and he pushed my arm down, but it didn't touch the table, because at the last second, I pulled all the strength I had into my hand, and slammed his own arm to the table.

"Hah! I won, I won, I won! In your face, Play-Dough-head! You lost, sucker! I won! Haha!" I immediately got up and rubbed the victory in the appalled Sasuke's face.

"What the hell was that?! That was black magic, that was cheating!"

"You never said anything about the rules!" I sang, and Neji, him and Shikamaru trying to calm their laughter (Naruto and Kankerou were rolling on the ground by now), said, "It's true, Uchiha, you lost your pride to her. Nice going."

"Alright, that's it," Sasuke growled, standing up. "I'm hungry, who wants to walk with me to the drug store and get something to eat?"

"You read my mind," Gaara said very simply, and stood up. "Nara, come on, you look as thin as a twig. I know the stress techs are getting lately, you need something in that skinny stomach of yours."

"Ah, fine…" Shikamaru said reluctantly, standing.

"I wanna stay here with TenTen!" Naruto said, however. "It's fun hanging out with a girl, it's different!"

"What's so different about it?" I demanded curiously, sitting on the coffee table and swinging my legs carelessly.

"You're…hmm…" Naruto watched me, then elbowed Kankerou. "Hey, help me out here."

"You're cute," Kankerou decided with a smile.

I stared at them for a while, then glared. "Eh?! Nu-uh! I'm not cute!"

"Yes, you are. You're doing it now."

"Doing what?!"

Kankerou couldn't answer, because Naruto's stomach filled up the silence with a very loud and sloppy grumble, and he laughed sheepishly. "Okay, I guess I'll come with you after all, Sasuke."

"I'll come too!" Kankerou said enthusiastically. "I'm starved!"

"Wait a minute, someone needs to watch the house," Sasuke said, frowning. "Hyuuga?"

"Yeah, I'll stay. I'm not hungry," he said, shrugging.

I smiled. "I gotta stay with Neji!" I decided. "I'm his sidekick, after all!"

"Whatever. You want me to bring you something back, since you have my pride now?" Sasuke asked glumly.

"Gummy worms!"

"Check. Let's go." Sasuke led the others out, and closed the door behind him, and I giggled girlishly and faced Neji again. "This is fun!" I said happily.

He smirked. "What, you've never hung out with us before?"

"Not with just boys," I said, walking over with an accented stagger and plopping down next to him on the sofa. "You guys are fun. And you're hilarious."

"I'm glad you think so," he said blandly, and I couldn't help but laugh at the lack of emotion he used. He watched me, raising an eyebrow. "What's so hilarious now?"

"Nothing. It's just funny to hear you say that." I pulled my knees up to myself and rested my chin on them contentedly. "You don't use any emotion." I was already used to the way he just used fake politeness and stressed his stoic as much as possible. That just made him more interesting, of course.

"Well it's the truth," he said defensively, frowning. "I'm glad we could brighten your mood. You've been seeming…strangely out of it recently."

I looked up at him in surprise, and let my knees fall from my arms again. "…Really?" He nodded down at me, and I sighed and crossed my legs. "So…it's that obvious?" I asked quietly, facing forward. It was strange how we'd changed the mood so quickly. It all felt so serious, and that just wasn't like me. I didn't like it. But it was hard to be anything _but _serious, lately…

"It is," he responded quietly. And he didn't even have to say anything to let me know that he wanted me to tell him. And I had to follow his orders, didn't I? I was his sidekick, wasn't I?

"It's…Sakura," I said simply.

"Sakura?"

"Yeah. She's acting…different. Not like herself. I mean, did you see her after school, and at lunch? She was acting weird around Sasuke. And then, after that talk with Karin, she just changed moods again. And Hinata…she seems so…"

I shook my head and looked behind me, over the back of the sofa and out the window, to the slowly darkening sky. It seemed as if the sky was always grey here. "Something's wrong…" I said.

"Then we just have to fix it," Neji said, and I turned back to him, and gave an honest smile.

"Yeah," I said with a small laugh. "But…" I closed my eyes. "Something's coming, Neji. You can feel it too, right?"

"I can," he said simply.

"And…I can't help but feel like I can't do anything. I can't help Sakura, I can't help Hinata. I can't help anyone. I…There's nothing I can do, Neji. Not anymore." I opened my eyes again and stared at my lap, my fingers playing with my skirt. "And what's coming…it's going to tear everyone apart. It's going to hurt us, all of us, and…and…"

My voice faded away when I turned to look at him, and saw a look in his eyes. It was calm, confident, and cool. It was…_him_. And it held that same sort of fondness I kept seeing in him. What was it? Why was it there?

He held up a hand, and I saw the scar there on his palm; my name, TenTen Hyuuga, etched into his skin. Permanently. Forever.

"TenTen," he murmured, and I got shivers just from listening to his soft, gentle voice. "Me and you…We'll never be torn apart from each other…"

I stared at him, then held up my own hand, the one with the scar on it, and our fingers laced within each others. It was perfect. With Kankerou when we were playing mercy, hell with anyone else, holding hands was awkward. With Neji, it felt like it was my own hand, fit symmetrically against my other. But it was…_his_…

Just like that day that I took his hand when he rescued me from Kabuto's flat. It was soft, smooth, and looked wonderful pressed to mine, his fingers in mine, my fingers in his…

And his eyes, beautiful, staring right into mine. Without realizing it, our faces inched closer. "Right…" I whispered. "Because we promised…"

"…Yeah…" he murmured, and I could hear the nervousness, and the excitement, that I felt as well.

"…Neji…" I mumbled, feeling his breath against my cheek; we were so close, I could see every groove on his nose, every eyelash…

"…Yeah," he whispered against my lips.

There was suddenly a slam from outside; Temari's car door shutting. We could hear voices, people walking up to the house, and we both sprang away from each other quickly. I held my fingers curled to my lips; they had been so close to Neji's, they were brushing his face! What had just happened? What was I feeling, why was my heart hammering against my chest? I felt like fainting, and if I was any other person I probably would have. I didn't dare look at Neji, and when the others entered the house, Temari yelling about how she'd run into the boys on their way home and almost squashed them flat, while dragging Shikamaru by the hand and Kankerou by the ear over the porch, I acted as normal as I could possibly be.

"Hi guys, how was the crummy chick flick?" I asked cheerfully, leaping to my feet and bouncing over to them; I felt jumpy anyways, my heart was still in my stomach, and my stomach was somewhere in my feet, filled with a bucket of ice-water.

"A piece of shit," Temari said enthusiastically with a grin. I could see Hinata, still blushing, behind her, and Sakura and Ino and Matsuri chattering away excitedly. "I threw popcorn at the screen, and we almost got kicked out, but the movie ended before they could get to us."

I laughed breathlessly. "Awesome! Just like my idol!" I didn't want to, but I chanced a quick peek over my shoulder at Neji, just to calm my nerves and my curiosity.

He was lying on his back on the sofa, staring at the ceiling with an expression of enormous remorse and terrified confusion on his face; his fingers were to his lips.

He didn't notice me, thankfully, so I ran over to Sakura and tackled her, while demanding of the expressionless Sasuke where my gummy worms were at. And all the while, I was trying to push every thought out of my mind.

Except…that…

I liked it. And I knew Neji did too…

'_I dunno where we're going, or what's going to happen..._' I thought as I laced my arms around Sakura's neck. '_But...if Neji and I are in it together...I don't care if I can stop it or not..._'

'_At least not right now..._'

**X**X**X**X**X**

**READ IF YOU'RE A SASUSAKU FAN:** I've settled on a pairing decision that will probably make most of you furious. I know I've made a promise, but I've decided to let it down for reasons of my own. **If you'd like to ask questions about it, or even argue about my pairing preferences, specifically in this story, PLEASE PM ME**. I will reply, and I will reply with a mature and honest answer. I'm always up for a good explanation and a _friendly_ argument (we're going to keep this civil if we can). **SO, HERE'S YOUR WARNING: If you are utterly against SASUKARIN AND/OR LEESAKU, and know that any ounce of the pairings will bring your blood to a boil and flames to your keyboard, I WOULDN'T READ THIS STORY ANY LONGER!  
**The other pairings, in case you'd all like to know, will stay as such: **NejiTen, NaruHina, ShikaTema, ChouIno, and GaaMatsu**, and there will indeed be some **KIBAKANK**, which is **Yaoi**, and I know there are a lot of _**homophobes in the SasuSaku business**_ so yeah, avoid that too.


	34. Her Love

**Thank you all **_**so much **_for being so mature! You guys have proved that although we all have different opinions, we can still love each other as much as we love the **Sweet N' Low ® **that we put in our 'cherry-walnut' coffee! Yes, that is a huge compliment. Trust me.  
Enjoy!

**X**X**X**X**X**

**H**e**a**r **N**o **E**v**i**l  
_See no evil. Speak no evil._

**D**i**s**c**l**a**i**m**e**r: Oh emm eff gee, I don't own Naruto. :)  
**S**o**n**g**s**: _Let It Rock _by _Kevin Rudolf_

C**h**. **T**h**i**r**t**y **S**e**v**e**n** – Hinata's Love (Secrets)

_Because when I arrive  
I bring the fire  
I make you come alive  
I can take you higher_

**H**i**n**a**t**a

Just like how I could tell what TenTen was going to say before she said it, I could somehow understand when something was wrong with someone. With _anyone_.

And something seemed to be wrong with _everyone_.

TenTen and Neji last night, for instance. When we'd returned from the movie (I hadn't gotten over Rain's muscles until half an hour later, but I'd managed to function), we'd decided to all play cards. TenTen sat right next to Neji on the sofa. This wasn't unusual. But every time they accidentally brushed against each other, any time they caught each other's eye, anytime they said something at the same time the other was talking, they'd both freeze, look at each other, then blush and smile.

I'd never seen TenTen suck up to _anyone_, but she was most definitely sucking up to Neji. In fact, she'd helped him win the card game by cheating and flashing him her cards, and when Sasuke demanded they start over, she'd snapped at him some curses that I swore to never repeat.

Sakura had sat next to Karin, and the two had seemed quite determined on beating Sasuke in any way possible. They passed each other cards under the table, they nudged each other and whispered in each other's ears, and they completely ignored Sasuke, who seemed quite frustrated and frightened.

After a while, the visitors said they needed to leave, and when Ino begged them to stay, then begged to come with them, they claimed they hadn't been sleeping well enough lately, and they needed to be prepared, something Gaara insisted a lazy Shikamaru back up for them.

After they left, the rest of us had fallen asleep amidst friendly arguments, and two wrestling matches between Naruto and Sasuke, of which Neji broke up the first and ignored the second.

I was the first to wake, along with my cousin, and he'd suggested I make us breakfast while he went to take a shower, and I'd taken his suggestion.

Now, I stood at the stove in the kitchen, pushing around some chopped up potatoes and vegetable oil in a pan with a spatula, my other hand shaking some salt over them. I watched the salt hiss and spit at me, and I heard a beep and skittered over to the oven, where the scones had been heating. I pulled them out on the tray, set them on the counter, and turned around to get the butter melting in the pot next to the hash browns.

But I almost ran into someone, who held me back with a grin. "Is this what you needed?" He held up the pot full of melted butter.

I stared up at Naruto in surprise, and of course my first reaction was to blush terribly. "U-Um, no!"

He blinked. "…Really?" He groaned aloud. "Damn! I try to be cool and I just _have _to-!"

"W-Wait!" He stopped, and I giggled nervously, pointing a shaky finger to the pot. "Y…Yes, that's…that _is_ actually what I…what I need…" Inside, I felt like _such an idiot_. How could I have made such a stupid mistake like that?

"Really?!" Instead of pitying me, however, he grinned and punched a fist in the air, carefully making sure not to spill the butter. "Awesome! So I _was_ cool, right?!" He looked at me eagerly.

I stared at the excited smile on his face, then smiled. "Yes, Naruto-kun. You were really cool."

"Yay!" He laughed happily and walked over to the scones on the counter. I blinked and watched him, and he looked over his shoulder at me. "I learned from Temari how to cook. After you left, we needed _some_one to do stuff, and since I'm only a spy and a thief and all, I had a lot of time on my hands. You just kinda of…drip it over them, right?"

I nodded slowly, walking over to him and making sure he did it right; I wanted him to do it. He did so, dribbling the melted butter over the breaded treats. He inhaled deeply as he did so, and sighed blissfully. "Ah, they smell _so_ _good_. Those hash browns do too…"

I gasped. "The hash browns!" I ran over to the stove and twisted the dials, turning off the flame, but it was too late. The hash browns weren't nicely browned like I'd intended, but a dark, charred black. "Oh no…" I said sadly. "Those were the last of the potatoes."

Naruto was suddenly at my shoulder, and he almost gave me a heart attack; I never could understand how he seemed to pop up out of nowhere!

He suddenly reached over my shoulder, and his fingers pinched some of the black stuff. "W…Wait, it's hot-" I started, but he simply popped the thing into his mouth.

I blinked, and he chewed for a while thoughtfully, then his mouth curled into a bright, sunny smile.

"It's still good!" he said happily.

I stared at him. "But it's…destroyed," I said slowly.

"No, not entirely," he said with a laugh. "Don't be so overdramatic. Some people like different things. A lot of people like burnt food. Me? I _love_ burnt food. Which means, that when you came back to cook, everyone was really happy because they didn't have to eat my stuff anymore. But I would eat it, you know?" He looked me in the eye, grinning.

"I was the only one that liked it."

I blushed darkly, but felt the smile coming on. "…Naruto, can you please get the soy jam from the cabinet above the stove?"

"Of course! Wow, I didn't know we had any soy jam in here."

"It's old, but it's not expired, and it's made from fermented beans anyways."

"Yummy! You're gonna put these on the hash browns?"

"…No, the _scones_, Naruto-kun. The hash browns are burnt anyways, they're not edible."

"Hey, did you listen to anything I said?!"

**x**x**x**x**x**

"Yay! Skipping school, skipping school…" TenTen was singing as she pulled on a pair of Temari's jeans. I myself was wearing a skirt Ino had handed me, and Sakura was in another one of Ino's outfits, that Ino had borrowed from Matsuri.

Temari grinned. "Yep, we're happy too, Ten! Of course, it's not like I was doing anything in school to begin with, it was just fun to bug the teachers and talk to the stupid kids. But skipping…skipping is fun."

Sakura, disapproving as usual, straightened up and pulled her hair back from her face."I really don't see why we couldn't have scheduled this stupid meeting for another day!"

Temari looked up. "What are you talking about? _You _guys aren't going."

"…What?" TenTen, Sakura and I asked at once.

"Well…" Temari sighed, standing up straight after lacing up a long stiletto boot. "I'm going. And Shikamaru's going. And Neji and Sasuke are going. But, um…that's about it."

"…Wait, wait!" TenTen jumped up and down in place impatiently. "Why-?!"

"Hey, you guys done yet?"

"_STAY OUT_!" Ino screamed, and everyone froze as Temari hurled a high heel at a shaggy brown head that quickly retreated and slammed the door behind him, the heel slamming into it and tumbling to the ground.

Temari and Ino, breathing hard, both put up a storm of swearing. "God _damn _it, I hate when Kiba does that," Temari hissed. She turned to the rest of us. "…Well, I'm going to go punish him as violently as possible." She stalked out of the room, and TenTen laughed almost nervously.

"As usual, she scares the shit out of me," she said happily. "I love that girl."

"Yup! She's the best!" Ino sang. She frowned playfully. "But you'd better not steal her from me, TenTen! She's _my_ best friend! _Mine_!"

"Aw! Come on!"

"You have Sakura and Hinata!"

"They're not as good! Temari's _sexy_!"

"Are you planning to get laid or something…?"

"Shut up, forehead, I wasn't talking to you. _Ugly_."

"Excuse me?!"

"TenTen has a point, Sakura, sweetie. You're pretty, but you have a big-"

"Shut_ up_, Ino!"

I watched the three arguing it out and sighed. I seemed to be the only one that wasn't avoiding the subject…

What had Temari meant when she'd said _we_ weren't coming?

As we exited the room, Temari came back into the hall with a grin, pulling Kiba along beside her with a new term of endearing. "Guess what guys!" she said, excited.

"You dumped Shikamaru for Kiba?!" Ino screeched, seeming scared to death.

Surprisingly, Temari wasn't pissed, in fact she just laughed. "No! Even if I did, Kiba wouldn't accept, because _guess what_!"

Ino blinked. "Kiba dumped Kankerou for you?"

"You…knew about Kiba and Kankerou?"

"Um, if I may have a say in this…conversation about me…? We weren't dating till last night…"

"…Are you kidding?"

**x**x**x**x**x**

"It's nice to meet you, Shiho," I said politely. Temari had just introduced TenTen, Sakura and I to the little blonde girl with glasses from Matsuri's gang with a very annoyed and dull glance that Ino shared with her. I couldn't understand why Temari and Ino were suddenly so bland around this girl, who smiled shyly at us.

"H-Hello," she stuttered, and TenTen laughed warmly. We were all in the living room.

"Haha, you're so cute! You're like a little Hinata!"

Shiho giggled nervously, and I gave her as friendly a smile as I could. She scratched her stomach underneath her baggy shirt. "I, well, I suppose that's a compliment. But I don't think you should compare me to anyone, it would be an insult to them."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked as Shiho adjusted her glasses.

"Well, um…people always call me airheaded and-and clumsy."

Temari, over by Shikamaru and Ino, suddenly muttered, "Understatement of the year,", and Ino gave a very unladylike snort as Shikamaru smirked.

I blinked in confusion as Sakura, she and TenTen not seeming to notice, laughed and said, "Well that's an element of turning people on!"

"Good job!" TenTen said with a grin, and Shiho smiled, blushing.

"Anyways," Temari said loudly, an angry bite of impatience in her voice. "Shiho, why did you bring Kiba here yourself, huh? Wanted to preach some sort of Southern crap?"

Shiho laughed very lightheartedly as if Temari had told some sort of pretty joke. Temari only seemed to get more pissed. "Well, um, Kankerou apparently confessed to Kiba last night. I wanted to call him, to congratulate him-" Temari and Ino both gave short hisses, and Kiba just stared at his knees silently, seeming embarrassed and worried about something. "…but unfortunately, Kankerou wouldn't answer his cell phone. And Matsuri won't answer her cell phone either, I heard a few people down at the hideout complaining about it. They were also saying that Karin wasn't picking up either. I thought about maybe calling Gaara, to see if _he_ would answer, and direct me kindly to Kankerou, but he didn't…So, I thought I'd bring the news to you, Temari…"

"Joy to the world," Temari said very blandly, and Shikamaru and Ino both had to stop themselves from laughing. TenTen, who would usually be backing Temari up, seemed very confused, but otherwise indifferent.

Shiho only laughed one more time, and sat down next to Neji on the couch.

And that's when it started.

I stared at her as she smiled up at Neji, a small blush on her cheeks, and felt some sort of anger rush through me, like low music filling the air. TenTen would usually be in that spot. No, TenTen was _always_ in that spot. Neji was _hers_, wasn't he?! And she was his! And yet…Shiho was…

I shook my head to myself, trying not to let the feelings overflow me. What was I thinking? This girl was innocent and sweet, and most likely brilliant; I'd heard her name before, wasn't she the tech on Matsuri's team? Obviously she meant no harm.

I took Sakura and TenTen with me to sit next to me on the other sofa. Temari was watching TenTen closely, but TenTen was just cheerful as usual.

"You're sure that's why you're here, Shiho?" Sasuke asked. "No gang business or anything?"

Shiho shook her head, and Sasuke and Shikamaru both let out deep sighs of relief. "You have no idea how pressed I've been…" Shikamaru muttered darkly. "People sending me fucking emails like I actually care about them, it pisses me the hell off."

Temari laughed and kissed Shikamaru on the cheek, then gave Shiho this deadly glare that Shiho ignored pointedly. I was starting to see some sort of connection here. Sakura and TenTen still didn't seem to notice. That is, until Shiho started trying to do something _else_…

She looked up at Neji again, who was looking down at her with disinterest, obviously forcing himself to be attentive out of pure politeness. "It's great, isn't it?" she asked him, more than the room at large. "Seeing two people finding love…It sort of makes you…" She pressed her arm to Neji's from the side. "…excited, doesn't it?"

Again, the intense anger came over me again. Neji only shrugged and continued to clean out his gun, and Shiho giggled and said, "You're so cute, Neji," in a bright voice.

I could barely stand it. I'd never felt fury like this before, for any girl…except, once. When Tayuya came around, and tried to take Shikamaru away from Temari.

Foreshadowing. I'd never really considered it until now, or at least foreshadowing based off of the past.

I turned to TenTen next to me. She was watching Shiho, and she had a very blank expression on her face. There was no pain, there was no anger. There wasn't even any interest. Just a blank stare, and I couldn't for the life of me guess what she was thinking.

I bit my lip, and tried to stay still, but then Shiho drew the last line.

"Neji…so, I haven't talked to you in a while, why won't you answer my phone calls?"

"Because I'm busy," he replied distractedly, and kept on cleaning his gun with no glance towards Shiho. But she wouldn't give up.

"Neji, we should hang out more. Why not tonight, hmm?" She was simpering, it wasn't Shiho anymore. She was suddenly this blubbering, blushing girl, and I hated every bit of her, and I'd never hated anyone before like this…

"I'm training with TenTen tonight," he said simply.

"Who?" Shiho glanced over at us, then laughed brightly. "Oh! _Her_. Well, you can cancel just for tonight, can't you?" She looked right into TenTen's eyes with a smile. "Right, TenTen?"

TenTen blinked, and I felt slightly relieved. I was sure TenTen was going to do what she did best. She was going to insult Shiho, tell her off, and in the end resolve Shiho to tears, letting her run out of the house with wounded pride.

"Yeah, that's okay!"

I stared at TenTen in dismay, at the smile on her face. Neji slowly looked up at her, confusion evident in his gaze. But she avoided his eyes, in fact avoided everything about him, and just smiled at Shiho.

Shiho giggled. "Okay! So, how about it, Neji? We can go to a movie, or-"

"Sorry, but this city is under complete lockdown by the man that has hurt people I care about," Neji said suddenly. "I'm not going to waste a chance to get better at being able to actually fight back." The whole time he said this, he did not look away from TenTen, and she just fidgeted with the hem of her jeans, smiling amid the perplexity.

"…Oh…okay…" Shiho recovered immediately however, and she took his hand in an instant. "Oh, you have a scar, Neji! What happened?" She turned his palm into the light, and blinked. I could tell she was reading it, but then she said, "What an ugly scar!", and I'd had it.

It was as if she didn't know it said 'TenTen Hyuuga' on his palm, and she just thought it was a scar. But I knew she'd read it. I could tell. TenTen didn't even react, but I knew something was going on behind that smile.

"TenTen-"

"TenTen, come with me into the kitchen," Temari interrupted me. I blinked, and looked over to see a set of glares coming from her and Ino, directed to Shiho. They both looked so mad that they could have ripped the sofa to shreds in a second.

TenTen tilted her head to the side. "Why? I wanna stay here-"

"That's an _order_ from your goddamn _idol_, TenTen," Temari snapped angrily, standing up. "Come with me into the kitchen, _now_."

Shiho suddenly stood as well, seeing as Neji had snatched his hand away from her long before and begun cleaning his gun again. "Ah, it seems like it's late. Come on, Kiba, we should go. Thank you for your hospitality, everyone. It was nice to catch up with Team Uchiha." She began to walk away, and then waved at TenTen, Sakura and I. "It was so nice to meet you girls. I'll call you up this weekend, yeah? We can hang out."

Sakura smiled sweetly. "Sure thing!"

TenTen grinned. "Yeah, sounds good! See ya, Shiho!"

I said nothing, she didn't seem to notice. She walked away with a very silent Kiba, who didn't look Temari or Ino in the eye the entire time and had his hands crossed behind his back as if he was trying to be inconspicuous. When the door swung shut behind her, TenTen jumped to her feet. As if Temari had never said anything, she declared, "I'm gonna go scare Shiho! I wonder how cute she'd be if I did that!"

I blinked, and stood up suddenly as TenTen started for the door. I could see it now; she was coming up with something. "I…I'll join you!"

Everyone stared at me, bewildered. I tried to catch Temari's eye, but she just seemed too confused over the fact that I was actually trying to help TenTen with one of her pranks. But TenTen just laughed and motioned for me to be quiet, then opened the door silently and we both walked out.

TenTen clutched my arm, and the eager face was suddenly becoming less cheerful as we began our decent down the porch stairs and crept behind Shiho and Kiba. It became more of a concentrated face, a face that was filled with prepossessing inquiries.

And that's when we realized Shiho's true, malignant intentions, and that's when everything truly began.

"I can't believe I had to _lie_ to them!" Shiho was saying to Kiba, who was staring at the ground as he walked. "It's incredibly immoral…Of course, not as immoral as _you_ are, Kiba."

TenTen's grip on my arm tightened, I watched Kiba's muscles cringe in his back as he kept walking without a word. We were still unnoticed by the two in front of us, thankfully, and Shiho went on.

"I mean, I _would _tell them how I feel about your silly boyfriend. Your man-sex, your…sick, twisted desires. I would tell them that it is a _sin_ to love a man. It's just…not _right_, Kiba. You don't understand what love _is_, you're _confused_. And there I had to go and dirty Kankerou's sister's mind with the news that her younger brother is a homosexual. How do you think she feels, Kiba? How do you think Kankerou's entire _gang_ feels?"

"…I'm part of Kankerou's gang…" Kiba said quietly. "They accept me."

"Because _they're_ lying _too_." She spoke with a calm voice, as if she was preaching him an important life lesson. "How do you think they'll react, when they know they have to shower with a gay man? Won't they be _uncomfortable_, knowing someone that sleeps with men is living with them? You see, you've only created an unbreakable chain of immortalities, and you can fix them, Kiba. But only if you accept the fact that you are not-"

"_Bitch_!"

And _that _was apparently the last straw for TenTen. Shiho and Kiba whipped around in surprise, and TenTen's fist slammed into the blonde girls' face, who flew back and landed on the ground, blood pouring out of her nose.

"TenTen…TenTen, I don't think you should-!" I tried as Kiba stumbled back, surprised, and TenTen strode over to Shiho, grabbed her by the collar, and hoisted her up so her face was level with hers.

"You know nothing about love!" she shouted in Shiho's bloody, shocked face. "You don't know nothing about how Kankerou and Kiba feel for each other! If you think you can tell people who they can or can't love, _you're_ the sick one! _You're_ the immoral one!" She slammed Shiho's face into her knee, and Shiho, sputtering blood, ran backwards, trying to escape, but TenTen grabbed her again and thrust her fist into her stomach again and again.

Immediately, Kiba and I ran forward and grabbed TenTen, pulling her away from Shiho. TenTen was heaving long breaths, I heard everyone coming out from the house.

"_TenTen_!" Sakura cried, and she ran over quickly to pull an arm around Shiho's shoulders and help her up. "What the _hell_ is your _problem_?! What did you just _do_ to her?!"

I glanced over my shoulder, still holding on to TenTen, and saw Temari and Ino both smirking. Neji was watching TenTen with a subtle interest, but he wasn't at all too excited about the fight. He leaned against the porch, and watched with Sasuke and Naruto.

I turned back to Sakura and TenTen. "Sakura, she's a lying bitch!" TenTen shouted. "You can see it, can't you?!" She pointed furiously to Shiho. "You should've heard what she was saying to Kiba! She's a fake!"

Shiho let out a loud, over-exaggerated sob and wrenched herself from Sakura's arms to her car, weeping and dripping blood on her way. As she drove away, Kiba let go of TenTen a said capriciously, "I…I've…got to go…" and he walked away briskly.

Sakura watched the two of them make their getaway piteously, then turned to glare at TenTen. "You're being the complete _idiot_ you are, TenTen! _As usual_!" She placed her hands on her hips sternly, an expression of talking to a five year old lodging on her face. "First of all, Shiho is _not_ a homophobe! Did you _see_ how _happy_ she was about Kiba?!"

"She was lying!"

"People don't lie about that kind of stuff, TenTen! And even if she _was_ lying, there's nothing wrong with being homophobic, especially if you're nice about it in public, like Shiho was."

"_Everything_ is wrong with being homophobic, Sakura! No one can say who you love!"

"Um, _actually_, they can, sweetie. It's called _The Law_. It's called _The Bible_. And both say you can't love someone of the same-"

"That's wrong and you know it! And _don't call me 'sweetie'_! I _hate_ it when you _call me that_!"

Sakura blinked. TenTen's fury was starting to affect her.

"Stop acting like you're _so fucking mature _and _so fucking smart_, because you want to _know_ something, since you seem to love being _smart so fucking much_?! _No one_ thinks you _are_, they just think you're _goddamn annoying_!"

Sakura grit her teeth, it seemed TenTen had pulled the final string. "Well you're just a violent idiot who doesn't know what she's talking about!"

With that, she stormed away, pushing past Temari and Ino, who both looked disappointed, and I let TenTen go at last. But my heart was heavy, and I kept having to tell myself:

There was nothing I could do. There was nothing I could do.

**T**e**n**T**e**n

I'd never really taken myself _this_ seriously before. But this, I could not underestimate, was a haste mission to be cherished most delicately. In other words, I _could not_ screw up. Although, self evidently, I was the one to screw up most situations, I had to take this carefully, because I knew what was going on...for once.

I pressed my back to the wall in the hallway outside the living room, waiting for the perfect opportunity and listening to Sasuke, Neji, Temari and Shikamaru discuss something on the battered sofas. I'd purposefully made myself a nuisance in the room Hinata, Sakura and Ino were told to stay in with me, so they'd kicked me out, and I'd run over here, telling a stumbling Naruto on my way that I was simply going to the bathroom, as he escaped the house to get food on Hinata's order.

I listened carefully. "Uchiha, I'm just mentioning that you shouldn't overexcite yourself," Neji was saying, not bothering to conceal his impatience with Sasuke. "You aren't useless, but at the same time I don't think Sai will find any use of you in the raid."

"Hyuuga, for the last time, I'm perfectly capable of pulling myself together when I need to! I'm not helpless, and I'm not an idiot like Naruto."

"Hyuuga never said that, 'Chisel-Chest'," Shikamaru said lazily, using Sakura's nickname for Sasuke. "He said that _Sai_ doesn't find you good enough. The rest of us believe you're the leader of this gang for a reason, however, and I can see your point. I'll try to convince Sai to let you join if you'd like."

Sasuke scoffed disparagingly. "You? Why the hell would he listen to _you_? Now that I think about it, why did he invite you to the meeting anyways?"

"Sai and I go way back," Shikamaru said very patiently. "We've been contacting each other before you even came here after your brother-"

"Don't talk about that," Sasuke snapped. "And the length that you've been friends proves that it's unfair. It puts you and Temari on a better level."

"Me?" Temari asked, sounding insulted. "You think I've been invited to the meeting because I'm _friends_ with Sai? I could kill you with a piece of _string_, Uchiha."

"I never said you weren't good. You see, you're being hypocrites now."

I could tell Temari was trying to calm herself, and heard Shikamaru sigh. "Uchiha, let's just drop the subject and think along these lines: Sai invited us all because he acknowledged your leadership, and the rest of our talents. Does that sound good to you?"

Sasuke said nothing, but then cleared his throat. "Alright, Neji, did you bring precautions?"

"We've been invited politely to an incredibly expensive, incredibly fancy restaurant, and they're paying for us. Why would I want to shoot them down?" Neji asked dully.

"Because we just set fire to their sixteen-storey hideout, and they've been spending every hour of every day trying to rebuild it, asking for help from Kankerou and Gaara's teams while they're at it," Shikamaru said calmly. "We don't know what kind of grudge they could hold against us."

"True," Neji mused. There was the sound of him setting a cell phone down on the coffee table and standing up, and I heard his footsteps. "I'll get some weapons from the backyard."

I exhaled three slow breaths, then as his footsteps advanced I braced myself and pressed myself against the indent in the doorway to the first bedroom. When he rounded the corner I reached out, grabbed his arm, and pulled, backing up into the bedroom.

Of course Neji's first reaction was to rebound the attack. He grabbed my shoulders and slammed me into the wall of the bedroom, raising a fist, but I smiled guiltily at him and he stared at me.

"…What the fuck are you trying to do, kill yourself?" he asked, fist still raised and eyes narrowed, annoyed.

"Sorry, but this is the only way I can talk to you in private, now keep it down!" I hissed, pushing him off of me and closing the bedroom door. I turned to him, trying to ignore the fact that we were alone in a bedroom, and pointed my finger into his chest. "I'm going with you!"

He stared down at me in irritated bewilderment, and then sighed. "TenTen…"

"I'm not saying on the raid-"

"How do you know about the raid?"

"The raid at Orochimaru's that Sai's planning. That's what the meetings about, that's why it's been kept a secret from Sakura and Hinata and I." He opened his mouth, startled and angry, and I said, "I'm a fast learner when it comes to this stuff."

"TenTen, you're not coming on the-"

"Yeah, yeah, I already said that!" I snapped impatiently, wanting to get on to the good stuff without giving away the ending. "Listen, I'm coming with you to the meeting at Sai's."

He pushed my hand away from his chest where I'd been pushing insistently and glared at me. "Do you honestly think after all the trouble you caused him he'd let you even walk near-?!"

"No," I interrupted him honestly. "And I wasn't expecting that. But he _will_ let me come if _you're _with me." He fixed his eyes, unblinking, on me, listening with studious intolerance. "See, I thought that if you introduced me as _your_ sidekick, _Neji Hyuuga's _sidekick, they'd let me in without a problem."

"What makes you think I'd want you to come to the meeting?" he asked edgily. "You have no business there."

As a response, I only took his hand, and he froze. He stared down at our connected hands, which I raised slowly up. I could feel our scars, our names, brushing against each other's palms. My heart was beating fast, like it had been every time he'd touched me recently, and it felt, again, as if something was rousing, stirring, in my chest, my mind, my stomach…

Only looking at his eyes, I waited for an answer. And that was all I had to do.

**x**x**x**x**x**

"Guys," Neji announced as he roughly pulled me, smiling, by the arm back into the living room, his weapons lining his pockets. "She's coming with us."

Sasuke, mouth agape, stood up in hostility, but Neji added, "No questions asked."

Sasuke stared at us with derision, but I could see Shikamaru and Temari share a smirk.

**x**x**x**x**x**

"I'm afraid, Uchiha, in your delirium, you misunderstood the reasons I bedecked this in the first place. In here I incompletely presumed you to exploit yourself as civil, despite your raving lunacy of a bygone."

"This adjournment vindication of a restaurant?! It doesn't suit our standards, Sai. You're pathetic if you think this is going to impress us."

"Would you renounce me if I went out of my way to fucking _recommence _this lithe place?"

"Sai, Uchiha, calm down, both of you. Your voices are fucking sonorous."

"Yes, Nara, I conceive, but it's Uchiha that's churlishly rebuking everything I say like a juvenile."

"Whoa, whoa, wait!"

Everyone turned to stare at me, sitting between Temari and Neji. "Yes?" Sai asked patiently.

"…What the hell's 'churlishly' supposed to mean?"

"…"

"…Going on…" Sai said, and they ignored me completely. I pouted and continued to ruffle the velvet tablecloth beneath me. We were at some place called the Café Saito. I'd heard of it before, it was one of the fanciest places in Konoha. Orochimaru's presence hadn't changed it in the least. It was a large, two-storey place with golden wallpaper and gigantic crystal chandeliers, glittering against the sparkling white plush carpet.

The tablecloths were what attracted my interest the most. It was made of this delightfully soft crimson velvet, the color of very dark raspberries, and it felt good to run my fingers up and down it, seeing the strange material grow darker or lighter as it was pushed one way then another.

I tried not to listen to the rest of them talking; I couldn't understand a word they were uttering out of their damn mouths! It was annoying, really. They were gang members. They weren't supposed to have memorized the fucking dictionary.

"TenTen, what are you doing?" Temari suddenly hissed from next to me as Neji tried to break up another argument that had erupted between Sai and Sasuke. Chouji and Shino from Sai's team were also there, but they were eating and ignoring the rest of us, as if we were a really bad television show. "Are you waiting for the good parts or something?"

I looked at her and winked. "Exactly!"

She sighed. "TenTen, that's not going to come soon. I suggest interfering now before it gets ugly between Sai and Uchiha there."

I blinked. "What do you mean?"

"I mean…" She leaned forward malignantly. "…Do us all a favor and start brightening the mood here. Sai and Uchiha are boring me!" she hissed.

I shook my head. "I can't," I whispered. "I'm still waiting for something…"

She sighed, "Pity", and went back to playing with Shikamaru's sleeve. I turned back to the tablecloth and began tracing a few doodles with my finger along it.

"You think I'm not good enough?! What about Shikamaru?!"

Sai raised an eyebrow. "What about him, Sasuke?" Shikamaru didn't seem interested, he was playing with Temari's fingers in his own.

"You're bringing him along on this stupid thing?! He's a _tech_, Sai! He can't _fight_!"

"That's where you're wrong," Sai said, frowning. "You say that you're a leader of your gang, and yet you've managed to ignore the most important of your duties."

"And _that_ is?"

"That you _must_ know _everything _about _every one _of your members! You don't know about Shikamaru's past, his _skills_!"

"Listen, I know enough. He let those girls from Karin's team knock him and Temari out!"

"The gang business is just a game to him, Sasuke," Sai said. I noticed they had a knack for talking about people in third person when they were right under their noses. "He doesn't need to be serious about anything unless it hurts himself or Temari."

Temari grinned. "I'll vouch for that."

Sasuke wrinkled his nose in disbelief. "And you know this because you're his friend?"

"No. Because he very nearly killed me," Sai admitted easily. "He is, when motivated, _the_ most dangerous person in Konoha."

"No way, Neji is," Sasuke muttered.

Neji shook his head, however, with a grimace. "No. Shikamaru nearly killed me as well. I've never been more afraid of a person while fighting as I was when I was up against that kid. He's deadly."

Sasuke stared at Shikamaru in bewilderment as Shikamaru, seeming very sleepy, rested his head on the table and laced his fingers in and out of Temari's. I was as confused as Sasuke was, watching him curiously. "…_Him_?" Sasuke blubbered. "I don't-!"

"Sasuke, just drop the subject," Sai said, seeming bored.

Sasuke frowned and looked at his fingers, then snapped his head up, another problem seeming to come to him. "Well what about TenTen?! "

I forced myself to stay out of it, pretending to be too concentrated on the velvet beneath me to care for what Sasuke was saying. Although I knew this was it. This was what I was waiting for.

Neji now intervened. "TenTen has potential, Uchiha, whether you think so or not."

"That doesn't mean she can come with us on the raid," Sai said. "I agree with Uchiha on this. She's a girl."

"Excuse me," Temari muttered dully.

"Temari, you're an exception, but even so, we aren't going to risk you. We're placing you on outside bases, with Shikamaru, so we can be sure you'll be protected."

"Since when does being a girl have anything to do with this?!" Temari demanded angrily. "Me and TenTen have just as much of a chance as you do! And actually, Orochimaru has a habit of keeping us alive! He just kills the boys, you're all useless to him!"

"And why would you want to risk yourselves like that?! You're delicate people," Sai snapped.

"Delicate?!"

"I beg to differ," Shikamaru agreed with Temari in an undertone.

"Yeah, what he said!" Temari cried. "You _know_ I'm not delicate, Sai! Do you remember the last time you tried to mess with me?!" Sai was silent, and he slowly looked down at his fingers on the table. Temari smirked. "Exactly my point. And TenTen's not delicate either. Have you seen her fight yet? I bet even _you_ would have trouble dealing with her. She may not be a perfect threat, but she will _never_ give up, I know because I've fought with her before. We managed to take down the _ceiling_ of Kabuto's hideout, and resorted Haku and Zabuza to retreat. _The _Haku, _the _Zabuza. And it was all TenTen's idea."

"Her?" Sai asked, and suddenly everyone followed his finger as he pointed right at me. "You think that girl is a feat for Orochimaru?"

I ignored them, even though I knew they were all staring at the smiley face I'd been drawing in the velvet with my finger. But I decided, at a whim, to draw something else.

A gun pointed to the smile's head.

Sai blinked, Sasuke's eyes widened. Neji smirked, and Temari grinned. "Yes," she said. "Her."

Sasuke sighed. "Listen. TenTen's a weird fighter, yeah. I'm her leader, and it's my job to observe her, so I know too. She has a…_different_ approach. And she doesn't follow orders. We need to make this an _organized _raid. It'll be our first move on Orochimaru's third station as both our gangs in unison. We need to make sure we don't lose too many people, even though it is _guaranteed _we will lose many already. If we bring TenTen along, certainties _will_ be lost, that I can _also _guarantee. And we can't afford that!"

I looked up, and smiled. "Oh, I get it, Sasuke. You're just pissed because I know a little secret about you, right?" He blinked in surprise, and tried to act confused, but I could see the fear in his eyes. I tried not to laugh. Stupid idiot didn't know I was talking bullshit. But everyone had a secret, and that was how I kept Sakura from blabbing to Tsunade that I didn't do my homework back at home anyways. I leaned forward on the table with a calm but audacious smile. "Listen, people. Neji's going on this raid, it's a given. So that means I'm comin' too. Wherever he goes, I go. Anyone will tell you that. I'm not gonna beg. I'm not gonna get angry."

I glanced at Neji, and saw a smile in his eyes, and I grinned and turned back to the rest of them. I had them. I really did, no one was turned to anything else but me. "I'm not even gonna try," I continued.

"Because you _are _gonna let me come with you."

**H**i**n**a**t**a

Sakura wasn't talking to TenTen. Even when TenTen and Sasuke both came back boasting about their long arguments with Sai, how in the end they were both allowed to join the raid. Naruto congratulated both, not jealous in the least. I could never see him getting jealous. But that was only because he was told that he was responsible for the materials and weapons they needed; _all_ of them, and this meant he was going to go on a shoplifting spree soon.

Sakura was the only one that wasn't there to celebrate TenTen's unconventional victory. In fact, she seemed a little irked at the idea. And not because of her usual worry for TenTen's wellbeing. This time she had some sort of superiority complex. I could tell it was getting worse the next day.

It was a pleasant Saturday afternoon when Sakura decided to invite Shiho over, and as soon as she walked in the doors, TenTen had said very loudly, "Whore!", and walked out. After that, Temari had decided she and Shikamaru were to train Sasuke and TenTen, and they, plus Neji, left for the backyard (after Temari recovered from her and Ino laughing so hard tears came from their eyes at TenTen's remark).

So all that was left was just Ino, Naruto, me, and Shiho and Sakura. And it was _not_ comfortable.

Because so far, all they were doing was making fun of TenTen.

"But she had the _nerve_ to call me _ugly _the other day!" Sakura was saying now. "Can you believe that?!"

"_Her_?!" Shiho asked, her face wide and appalled. "No way! Look who's talking, I mean, I never say bad things about anyone, but this is the truth…She looks like a panda!"

"Exactly!" Sakura cried, leaning forward on the sofa next to Shiho. "I've been calling her Panda ever since I met her!"

The two laughed pettishly, and a giggle came from Sakura that made me want to get sick. It was all so fake and sweet that I felt like I had a cavity coming on.

Ino was sitting in a corner, looking so furious she was almost irreproachable, and I wouldn't dare tap her on the shoulder for fear of sudden death. Naruto had a look of forced detain on his face, and he was violently tapping his thumbs on the keyboard of his cell phone, obviously trying, and failing, to distract the two with his random laughs and gasps as he read saved text after saved text.

But Sakura and Shiho just ignored us, as if we didn't even exist inside the room. It was their own little domain of slavish politeness, and nothing could distract them from their ultimate goal:

Push TenTen down lower and lower and lower…

"Oh, Hinata!" Sakura suddenly looked over at me, seeming to realize at last my eyes fixated on her. "Remember the last time TenTen wouldn't get up?! Wasn't it terribly annoying?! She's awful, and-!"

"Sakura-" I interrupted her. She stopped talking and looked at me with an expectant smile, that slowly faded when she recognized my stoic stare. I could feel Ino and Naruto both pausing and looking at me, and I said, "You're being immature." I would not allow her to get me to 'join in' on her taunts of the girl not too long ago Sakura loved like a sister.

Sakura stared at me. No one moved or talked, except for Shiho, who was glancing back and forth between me and Sakura. Sakura looked over her shoulder at Shiho, as if expecting an answer from her, and Shiho just smiled shyly and shrugged, so Sakura looked back to me and glared. "E…Ex_cuse_ me, Hinata? I'm sorry, but I'm not the immature one in this situation! Look at TenTen! She's…Sh-She's _always_ the immature one!"

It was if Sakura had been mocked and humiliated with those three simple words. It infuriated me, sickened me. She wasn't herself. Or maybe she was, at last…

And I didn't like it.

"Yes," I said, narrowing my eyes. "TenTen's immature, she's very childish." I stood up, and finished in a dark voice, "But at least she's a good person," before I left the room and didn't look back.

**T**e**n**T**e**n

"Besides the fact that you lost very sadly, you did good, TenTen!" Temari said cheerfully. I sighed. It was about eight at night, and we were all still in the backyard. We decided the best way to train was to go up in matches against each other. I was still covered in dust and dirt from my fight with Temari, and I still had blood coming from my lower lip, and there was a large gash on my arm.

It was a crushing defeat. I'd spent about half an hour trying to give Temari at least one major injury, but all I managed to do was send a couple punches her way, only one actually making contact with her. And only because I was too busy avoiding her crushing blows that came like a whirlwind. She was almost a blur, I'd never had to fight anyone so fast.

I pouted and sat next to Neji cross legged on the ground. "That's just like my idol," I said, my voice sad and defeated. "Amazing as usual!"

She giggled and sat on Neji's other side, pushing the very-near-asleep Shikamaru into a sitting position. "You weren't too bad yourself…Ugh, c'mon, lazy, your turn!"

"Great," Shikamaru mumbled, and gave a very wide, very long yawn. I watched as Sasuke too pulled himself ruefully into a standing position. "I really don't want to do this, but whatever," he said to Shikamaru, who was examining his fingernails. "Don't worry, though. I'll take it easy on you," he added in what seemed like a reassuring warning.

"Please don't," Shikamaru only replied.

Sasuke shrugged. "We'll see."

And the two walked out into the backyard. Sasuke looked over his shoulder. "Alright, same rules apply. Neji, you ref. No breaking the skin unless it's an accident…or an '_acc_ident'…" Sasuke used air quotes for this. "And…the winner is the one that holds the knife to the neck, or knocks the opponent out."

"Got it," Neji said in a monotone, and Sasuke turned to Shikamaru with a sigh. "Alright. Set us off, Neji."

Neji watched both of them, across the backyard from each other, to make sure they were ready, and said dimly, "Go."

Neither one even twitched. I blinked, remembering how I'd immediately made the first move on Temari. Shikamaru just stood there with his hands in his pockets, not even looking at Sasuke but studying a large crow shuffling on the tree branch above his head.

Sasuke thinned his lips impatiently. "Shikamaru, go ahead. You can make the first move."

Shikamaru looked slowly down at Sasuke. "Why?" he asked blandly.

"Because I'm afraid I'll kill you or something if I make the move myself, that's why," Sasuke snapped irritably. "Come on, dude, I don't have all night."

"Neither do I," Shikamaru said. "I honestly find it hard to conceive that you wouldn't make the first move on someone you feel you're going too easy on."

Sasuke grit his teeth. "Alright, then!"

He moved before I could blink, and went running at Shikamaru, lifting his fist. But it hit plain air. Shikamaru had taken one simple step to the side, and Sasuke went running right past him.

Shikamaru yawned and turned to face Sasuke, who skidded clumsily to a halt. "What was that? A breeze? A warm up? I really hope so," he muttered. "Come on, you're a gang leader. You can do better than that."

Temari was smirking. Sasuke glared and ran at Shikamaru again, this time making sure he didn't get away from him and grabbing his arm.

But then, his fist closed around nothing, and Shikamaru was a step behind him; he'd slipped out of Sasuke's grasp like jelly, and stood very calmly, hands in his pockets, watching Sasuke with annoyance. "Sasuke, grow up," he said easily. "Take it up a notch and show me what you've got. I won't get harmed, and-"

Shikamaru couldn't finish his sentence. Sasuke, getting angrier by the second, tried slamming one more punch at him. This time, Shikamaru didn't move, but I saw something amazing.

Without moving anything but his arm, he punched Sasuke in the stomach, and Sasuke flew back onto the ground in a cloud of dust. Coughing, Sasuke wrapped one arm around his stomach and stared up at Shikamaru in furious surprise.

Shikamaru groaned and tilted his head back to look at the sky. "Come _on_, Uchiha! You're pathetic! Get it together, would you? I'm bored."

Sasuke jumped to his feet. "Shut _up_, Nara!" he growled, and leapt at the boy. He missed the first punch, but on purpose, and trying to confuse Shikamaru he slammed a hand into the ground and swung his leg around to try and get at Shikamaru's stomach.

Shikamaru only had to lean back, grab Sasuke's leg, and Sasuke was sent hurtling through the air and onto his back on the ground once again.

This time, Shikamaru said nothing. He just walked a ways away, got onto the ground, and lay on his back, staring up at the treetop.

Sasuke, slowly getting to his feet, covered in dirt, gaped at Shikamaru as Temari's smirk widened. I blinked. "What's Shikamaru doing…?" I asked Neji uncertainly.

Neji shrugged, watching the match with much interest. "Trying to get Sasuke to fight at his hardest. He's nothing to Shikamaru now, like a child plucking at his clothing."

I watched Sasuke getting to his feet, seeing the anger prick at him. This wasn't good, Sasuke already had a fiery temper without it getting this tested. He faced Shikamaru and took deep breaths. "What the _hell_ do you think you're doing, Nara?!"

"I'm bored," was all he said sleepily.

"You complete jackass! Get up, and take this seriously!"

Shikamaru raised his head from the ground and looked over his body at Sasuke, lifting an eyebrow maliciously. "Really, Sasuke? You want me to actually _try_?"

"Yes, I do," he said darkly.

Shikamaru propped himself up on his elbows, scrutinizing Sasuke easily. "Are you sure? Will you not blame me for what happens?"

"Just get up and take this seriously! Stop trying to make this out to be some sort of game, it's not funny!" Sasuke yelled impatiently.

Shikamaru sighed and looked up at the sky.

"Alright. Just don't blame me…"

In a flash, he was on his feet, and in less than a second, he grabbed Sasuke by the front of his jacket, slammed his foot into the boy's stomach, and threw him with a great thrust of his shoulders all the way across the backyard and into the fence, which crashed and banged and dented in on itself with Sasuke's body weight.

And in one more second, Shikamaru was strolling over there as if down the school hallway, as Sasuke tried to recover, scrambling about the fence. I could see blood coming from his back and shoulders, where the wire had dug into his skin, but Shikamaru had no mercy for him.

He lifted Sasuke with one hand by his collar, and slammed Sasuke's face into his knee. Once, twice, three times, then he punched Sasuke's hard in the stomach, and leaned down to Sasuke's ear.

"Give up yet, Uchiha?" he asked, and as usual he was bored and sarcastic. "Or are you ready to step it up a notch, hmm? Care to give up, maybe? Or call for help?"

I glanced, open-mouthed, to Temari next to me. She was watching Shikamaru with that smirk still on her face, as if she knew a very dark secret that no one else did. And she probably did.

I glanced to Neji, and there was familiarity in his eyes, as if he had seen this before.

I turned to Shikamaru, who let Sasuke drop:

Sasuke had passed out.

I had never, never, seen someone that scary before, but Shikamaru walked over to us, lay down, wiped his hands on his jeans, and began to snuggle his head into Temari's lap, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her stomach where the skinned showed from her shirt lifting.

For some reason, I found myself smiling excitedly as Neji ran over to Sasuke and tried to get him awake. So this is what Orochimaru was up against? This was the kind of power we had on our team? A power hidden, used only when Shikamaru really, really _wanted_ to let it out? Was this something we could _all_, quite possibly, have inside of us?

Maybe even me…

I couldn't help but think, yet again, that we actually had a chance. We _actually_ had a chance!

**H**i**n**a**t**a

There was no such thing as aliens. There was no such thing as UFO's. I didn't believe in the supernatural or the metaphysical. I didn't care much for science fiction novels.

But that was just me. I never really cared about much but the things lain before me, didn't I? To me, as I sat outside on the front porch, where I'd been since I'd left the room with Sakura and Shiho in it, since Shiho had gone, ignoring me completely, back to her hideout where she belonged…to me, the stars were just starts. Not planets, or moons. Nothing else.

They were just the tiny, glittering lights in the sky I hated looking up at. I didn't enjoy knowing the fact that the universe was endless, that nothing ever ended…for how could it? How could it ever end?

I didn't like knowing that there was more, more, there was always _more_…

Nothing…ever seemed to end. The secrets, the pain, the heartache, and through it all I kept trying to keep the one thing that had lasted this long - Sakura, TenTen and I - together, but it was all in vain. Because I knew that _we_ were falling apart this time. Not the gang. Not the city. _Us_.

It never ended…and there was nothing I could do to end it myself…

I started as I saw something glitter on my hands, propped on my knees that were drawn up to my chest; it was a tear. More joined it soon, falling from my eyes. Each like its own individual star, holding on to pain and frustration and secrets…

I leaned over, holding my face in my hands, not making a sound. Just crying, just letting the tears fall. Catching them, all of them, catching the stars and holding them to me, trying to force myself to know; it was never going to end. Ever. And there was nothing I could do. Nothing I could do…

I heard something suddenly, and turned around slowly.

Naruto sat down next to me, unnoticed when coming out the door. He didn't look at me. He didn't say anything to me. He didn't touch me. He just bent his head up, to stare at the stars…

I turned away from him as well, breathing erratically as I recovered from my weeping.

None of us said anything for a while. The air was cool, and the breeze was mild. I could hear them all talking inside, I could see the shadows from the lights splayed along the lawn.

"I can see the big dipper."

I glanced at Naruto, then back up to the sky. He continued, not looking at me. "I mean, I think I can see it…" He paused, then laughed, a breathless, soft laugh. "I don't know. I'm not good at stars. But I know that's Orion. The three stars lined up against each other, see?"

I nodded slowly and distractedly, seeing the three consecutive stars in the sky. "Those stars look like they're close to each other, but they're actually very far away, aren't they?" I said quietly.

"Yup," Naruto said. "We learned that in Elementary School."

"…So…" I said, for some reason feeling like I was only talking to myself. "…So…they represent TenTen, Sakura and I." I closed my eyes, trying to burn the image of the three stars into my brain. "The things you see aren't always real," I whispered. "So that makes me wonder…How far away is...the distance between us?"

Naruto turned to look at me. "I dunno," he said carefully. "But I do know that you three act like you know everything about each other. But _you_ know that you don't. And now, you want to understand them, because you _don't_ understand them, right?"

"I want to understand because…"

"Because no one else will understand them?"

"No," I said, shaking my head. I could feel him staring at me, but I kept my gaze to the sky, opening my eyes again. "No," I repeated softly. "TenTen has Neji. Sakura has…Shiho, now. I have…no one…"

I froze after saying that, and suddenly, I saw how wrong I was. And I knew Naruto understood as well, because he grinned, I saw as I turned my face slowly towards him. He grinned at me, and then took my chin in his hand, and kissed me, and I had to close my eyes tightly and make sure this was real as I leaned into it.

He broke away, and neither of us moved, or even opened our eyes as he whispered, "Before I met you, I wanted to be a star, you know? I thought, someday, I'd be just like a star. Like the North Star, you know? Someone everyone would see and admire, and someone everyone else would look up too. Even though Sasuke became the leader, Neji became the best…I always dreamed that, you know? But then I met you…"

I opened my eyes, and stared into his own. Blue, and beautiful, sparkling with childlike love, and happiness, and things that, before I never believed I'd know like this. "I met you, and you were the most beautiful person in my life. And I admired you, and looked up to you, and followed you, and you showed me the way. And I knew, you were the North Star in my life. Not me."

I gazed deeply at him, then I smiled through the tears, still fresh on my face. "Did you not ever dream to be the North Star in someone else's?" I whispered against his lips.

He smiled back. "No. But that sounds good to me," he replied.

I had decided. Sakura and TenTen and I, we would drift apart, and I knew it. We had always been farther from each other than I had imagined. But it was alright. For now, I'd let it happen. For now, I'd let it go. For now, I'd hold on to Naruto's hand, and watch the bridge between us grow longer, and wait for the moment to cross it, because for now, there was nothing I could do.

Except wait for the day when I would cross that bridge, the bridge between me and the people I loved, the bridge between what I knew, and what I didn't; Right then, I decided that someday I would end it all, underneath the stars that were so full of the tears and the pain and the secrets.

**x**x**x**x**x**

In a dark room, Sasuke took Karin's hand. It was midnight, and Karin smiled.

"So you'll come with us?"

"If that means you'll be alright. Yes."

Hinata had a dream that night about the stars, and the things among them tried to hurt TenTen, and Sakura let it happen, and Hinata could do nothing.

**X**X**X**X**X**

Eh. Let's just say I had fun and be done with it.  
Three more fucking chapters! It's almost over!  
Re-Read & Edited while listening to: _30 Days_ by _Nevershoutnever!_  
thanks for reading!  
maravelous


	35. Relevance

For those of you that are excited by the **Kimimaro/TenTen** interaction in this story, realize that although this is a NejiTen and will forever stay a NejiTen, you are not the only ones that have been inspired! I've added a story called **Picaflor **(which is 'Hummingbird' in Spanish) to my account, and it's pure Kimimaro/TenTen. Please go take a look if you have the time! And one more message for Sakura fans: This chapter is a big Fuck You.  
Enjoy!

**X**X**X**X**X**

**H**e**a**r **N**o **E**v**i**l_  
See no evil. Speak no evil._

**D**i**s**c**l**a**i**m**e**r: Oh emm eff gee, I don't own Naruto. :)  
**S**o**n**g**s**: _Let It Rock _by _Kevin Rudolf_

C**h**. **T**h**i**r**t**y **E**i**g**h**t** – Relevance

_Now the son's disgraced_  
_He who knew his father_  
_When he cursed his name_  
_He turned and chased the dollar_  
_But it broke his heart_  
_So he stuck his middle finger_  
_To the world_

**x**x**x**x**x**

Ino had never really taken much thought to the fact that she was at school when she was with Chouji. And this, now, didn't really make much of a difference.

She simply couldn't take it. When she'd spotted him for the fifth time Monday at lunch, she'd lilted over, taken him by the shoulders, and pressed him into the wall, demanding he kiss her right back. And he didn't really seem to mind, and he obeyed, and _oh_ was it _good_…

But, she figured as Chouji's large, warm hand moved lower on her thigh, this was not the _good_ place to complete her dreams, and she separated from him quickly. The two had to draw in long recovering breaths before they could talk again, and it took a while. But neither one let go from each other, and Chouji chuckled through his heavy breathing.

"Would you kill me if I said 'interesting'?" he asked almost fondly, looking down at her as she glanced back at him, feeling the dark flush of excitement and embarrassment on her cheeks.

"No," she said, lacing her arms around his neck yet again. "It _was_ interesting."

"Yes. Very." Both of them stared at each other for a while, both of them had a slight touch of amusement in their eyes, before they leaned in to share one last kiss, and then Ino danced away in a flash, sparing him a brief glance over her shoulder as he leaned against the wall coolly and watched her go.

"I'll see you later. And you can satisfy your interests then," she called as she turned around again and flaunted away.

Chouji said nothing, but his content laugh was a satisfying enough answer for Ino, who smiled and threaded down the deserted hallway and into a more thriving one, near the cafeteria doors, where students were filing in and out to order lunch. She was on her way to the out-of-bounds hallway, towards the same old unused room the gang always ate in. That's when she spotted a familiar pink head in the crowd, and she frowned and skipped over to it; they were all supposed to be in the classroom by now, why wasn't Sakura?

Ino was about to sing Sakura's name over the annoying chatter as she slipped through the preponderance of mindless, hungry children, but she heard something that made her freeze altogether.

"Lee, you don't get it. Sakura doesn't want you around her anymore."

That voice. That stupid, whiny, bratty voice that always sounded so sad and shy and upset. That self-piteous attitude and sickly sweet attire. It was Shiho, and she was standing in front of Lee sternly, Sakura behind her with a blank expression.

"But…Shiho, I want to talk to Sakura alone, please," Lee said, shaking his head and obviously trying his hardest to be polite. He smiled at Sakura. "Sakura?" he asked hopefully.

"Sakura," Shiho said, and she turned her back on Lee and put a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Listen. You understand, right? It's obvious you're annoyed by him. You just need to say it, alright? You can do it. I know you have a kind heart, but you can be strong, Sakura."

Lee bit his lip. "Um…Shiho-san, this…this has nothing to do with…Could I please talk to Sakura? I have business to discuss with her."

"What sort of business?" Shiho asked calmly over her shoulder, as if he was a five year old and he was suggesting something ridiculous.

"Business," Lee repeated simply. "My business is my own."

"And apparently it's also Sakura's, which is a reason I should be interested," Shiho said simply.

"Shiho…" Sakura said slowly, then she spotted Ino. All three looked over at her, and Ino looked back at them. Her blue eyes were wide and her mouth was shut thin and tight.

Sakura smiled very nervously. "Ino…Um…Hi." Ino said nothing, but she slowly turned to face Lee. Shiho did as well, and heaved a sigh.

"Lee. You're a sweetheart, you really are. But Sakura admitted it to me herself! She doesn't need you anymore. She's grown up, it's all over. What you think of as her affection for you is simply gratitude, she regards you as nothing more than an acquaintance that helped her get back on her feet. For that she is forever thankful, yes, but she finds it uncomfortable when you keep running after her like this!"

Shiho smiled in what she seemed to think was a consoling way as Lee stared blankly at her and Sakura, who was staring at the floor.

"Lee, what I'm trying to say, is…Give up, sweet pea." Lee's eyes suddenly widened, widened so large and huge that he seemed surprised out of his mind. "It's o_kay_," Shiho went on, almost preaching. "You can _stop_ now. _She's_ alright, _you're_ alright. You can go your separate ways, and you can leave your troubled thoughts of protecting her with your life to _yourself._ That, is the _mature_ thing to do."

Lee said nothing, but when Sakura didn't either, he muttered, "If that is your point of view on the matter…" He turned around. "…then why do you, Sakura, not give up on Sasuke?"

He walked the other way into the cafeteria. Shiho sighed and turned to Sakura reassuringly. "There. See? That wasn't so bad."

Sakura looked up slowly at Shiho. "Thank you…" she said quietly. But Ino could see the uncertainty in her eyes. The fear, and the pain. Ino frowned when Sakura noticed her still standing there and turned to her expectantly.

"…Sakura…" Ino said softly, and then she narrowed her eyes, starting to feel angry, to feel _furious_. "Sakura…Remember when you tried to stop me from leaving?" Sakura's eyes widened, Shiho raised an eyebrow, confused. Ino continued. "You said, 'No you're not. I'm not letting you.'. When you said that, when you looked at me, I saw something…I had known all along you were going to be the one to stop me. It was in your nature, Sakura…"

Ino smiled suddenly, and she sighed in an almost merry nostalgia. "Ah, I thought you were amazing, Sakura," she said in a honey-sweet voice. "I thought you were so great. But then, then you had to hang around this little piece of shit," she gesticulated to Shiho rudely. ", and I realized, you're not. You're not really that great, Sakura."

Ino faced Sakura directly. "Sakura," she said very clearly. "If I was someone else, I'd say, "No you're not. I'm not letting you.' I wouldn't let '_you_' leave, Sakura. I wouldn't let '_you_' slip away from us. But it seems you feel like you're mature enough to try it on your own. Go ahead!" Ino turned around. "Be my guest! I'm better than you, it seems. I can grow up, without giving up. I can be forgiven." She walked swiftly down the hallway, feeling the tears prick her eyes as she sang in a happy, yet quivering voice:

"I win!"

**T**e**n**T**e**n

"Hey Ino," Temari greeted the girl immediately, not looking up from Shikamaru in her lap, who she was feeding Doritos. Ino had swung herself into the classroom, and now she closed the door behind her, looking us all over.

I was sitting on the windowsill next to Neji, swinging my legs and sipping on a pop as Neji leaned against my shoulder and responded to texts on his cell phone, feet up on the sill. Naruto was sitting on top of a desk and Hinata was sitting in the seat of that desk. Naruto was telling her a story, and she was laughing happily at it.

But there was something missing still. I watched Ino as she walked over to Shikamaru and sat on his stomach. "Is Sasuke still playing hide and seek?" she asked, pouting churlishly. "Aw. I wish he'd invited me to join!"

"Sasuke's still at Sai's, Ino," Neji said, shaking his head. "Some sort of business for the raid probably."

"But he won't answer his cell phone," Naruto complained.

I looked up slowly. Something else was on my mind, something more important. "Where's Sakura?" I asked curiously. "We all thought she was with you, Ino."

"Sakura's not joining us today," Ino replied simply. "Sakura's eating lunch with Shiho today."

Everyone stared at Ino. Hinata stopped laughing at another one of Naruto's jokes, and smiled down at the desk. Ino took a strand of Temari's hair and began to play with it absentmindedly, as if she had very much on her mind, and I turned back to look at my knees, and took a sip of my pop.

Suddenly Temari set Shikamaru's head gently to the side and stood up, then pointed at me. "Alright, let's cut the goddamn crap," she muttered darkly. Shikamaru glowered and sat up sleepily, but she ignored him. "TenTen, I can't stand keeping secrets from you. Listen; Shiho always does this, she acts like a sweetheart and then she turns around and stabs you in the back."

"I realized," I said darkly, not looking up at anyone, just staring at the pop between my hands, resting on my knees.

"No, TenTen, you don't," Temari said piteously. "I remember when I first met her, and Ino was still obsessed with Sasuke."

I looked up in surprise. "…What…?"

"Oh, you didn't know…? Ino had a huge crush on Sasuke before you guys came."

Ino looked up at me and flashed a smile. "Guilty!" she sang. But I could hear the sadness in her voice.

I stared at Ino. "…Let me guess…Shiho…"

Temari nodded. "Yup. Shiho came suddenly, and snagged Sasuke like a fucking fish. It didn't really work out too well for her, because Sasuke made it perfectly clear he wasn't interested in her. But she gave Ino hell. And then she tried her shit on me and Shikamaru. Didn't work. But Ino and I never really gave up the grudge we had on her."

"Reasonable." Suddenly Hinata straightened up at the desk she sat in. She gazed almost knowingly upon me and said, "Yesterday…Ino and Naruto heard this too…Yesterday, Sakura and Shiho were talking about you, TenTen."

I stared at her. "What were they saying…?" I asked softly.

Hinata bit her lip, and Naruto looked away. Ino stood from Shikamaru's stomach, to the relief of the boy, and said, "I'll answer that. They were mocking you, TenTen. They were calling you a violent, impulsive idiot."

Naruto nodded hurriedly as I simply stared at them. Neji shifted slightly next to me, but did not react. "Yeah," Naruto supported. "I heard that too! And…and I can remember exactly what Sakura said once, and that…that made me _really_ mad. I mean, it made me angrier than I got at anything else she said." Naruto frowned in concentration. "Sakura said, 'TenTen doesn't know when to stop and grow up. Walking forward like an idiot is clumsy. A person can't keep holding on to what they don't have. What you want the most is what you'll never get.'" Naruto shook his head, slipping a little on top of the desk and supporting himself with a hand. "To people like me, when they first hear stuff like that, they think it's smart. But I'm not an idiot. I…I'm not! Do you know what that means? It means she thinks it's time to give up, TenTen. How is that right?!"

I said nothing. Even though it wasn't right, I said nothing, and took a sip of my pop again. Even though Temari let out an outraged hiss, Ino shook her head disapprovingly, and Hinata stared sadly and determinedly at the top of her desk I did not say a word.

**x**x**x**x**x**

"See you later, Hinata," TenTen called over her shoulder. All the others, except for Temari and TenTen, were walking another way. They both had to go upstairs, so they decided to walk together. They started on their way, and Temari yawned.

"Fuck, I'm beat!" she cried, not minding the stares she got from a passing teacher after the curse. "I mean, seriously! Can't the gangs go easy on us? It's super depressing, seeing the lights go out of everyone's eyes lately, am I right?"

TenTen nodded distractedly, but said nothing, and Temari narrowed her eyes and looked closely at her. "TenTen, what's wrong?" she asked in a hushed, snappish voice. "If it's Shiho, don't-"

"It's not…it's not Shiho, actually…" she said, and she laughed breathlessly. "And I'm seriously telling the truth this time, it's…"

Temari watched her as she looked out in front of herself.

" …_I_ don't even know what's wrong with me right now…" And Temari could tell she was serious. It was obvious TenTen couldn't tell what was going on in her mind. But the emotions of old memories and thoughts were flashing through her eyes like wildfire, and Temari couldn't make anything out of it. All she knew, was that it was haunting TenTen endlessly.

"…Never mind…Just…if there's something on your mind, go ahead and ask it."

And so, TenTen did. She couldn't seem to even know where it came from, but it came out of her mouth like word vomit.

"What can you tell me about love?"

TenTen stopped walking after that. And Temari did too, but then she grabbed TenTen's wrist, gently for once, and tugged, making her walk, stunned and numb, along with her. "Eh…" She stared up at the ceiling lights. "I dunno. With Shikamaru and me, well…it's a matter of trust."

TenTen gulped. Temari tried not to laugh. "I know that he would die for me," she continued easily. "I know that if I was in any trouble, or I was missing, he wouldn't sleep until he found me, dead or alive. He would give anything to see me happy. And if anyone hurts me, he hurts them. I know that. And I know that I would do the same for him."

The fear in TenTen increased, Temari could feel it in the pulse beneath her fingers on TenTen's wrist.

"And…I know that to me, Shikamaru is…everything…" Temari finished softly. She was speaking the truth, now, the honest truth, and she knew it. And she didn't really care. "And every time I'm with him, I feel better. I feel like…it's okay."

Temari smiled. Everything was so pure and happy for a moment…

"But," she said, snapping back to normal and grinning, facing TenTen again. "The thing that I love _most_ of all, is…well, he's hott…" She laughed a bit. "_And _the he treats me like a woman." TenTen watched her, eyes wide. "Not like a play thing. Not like a helpless female tool. Like a human being."

TenTen suddenly she stopped walking again. This time, Temari stopped with her, but she didn't let go of TenTen's wrist. She stared at her with a smile. "You know? You know that awesome feeling you get when the guys treat you like one of them? When you're suddenly not this annoying little wart on the earth, and you're an equal? You know that feeling, when he lets you fight your fights, and scream and cry if you want to? When he tells you he knows you can do this…"

TenTen nodded slowly, and Temari's smile widened. Her eyes glittered, she was trying to tell TenTen some story that only she knew. "That," she said confidently. ", is what love feels like. That is the best feeling you will ever get to experience. It's _amazing_."

_"You can do this, TenTen."_

_"You're amazing, Neji."_

TenTen wrenched her wrist out of Temari's grasp, and, her face heating up, stuttered, "L-Let's go, okay? Hurry up already!"

Temari stayed behind for a moment, watching TenTen's back retreat. Her smile widened even more, than she ran to catch up to TenTen, and grabbed the girl's wrist again, just because it felt good under her fingers. It felt good, and familiar.

**T**e**n**T**e**n

In Chemistry, Kimimaro stood at the front of the classroom, and hadn't looked away from Sasuke's empty seat since he'd started the class with a simple, "We're having a lab today, pick your partners and get started."

It wasn't as if Sakura dared talk to me. She sat at the front of the class, and when the lab came around, she chose, for her partner, the girl that I'd called a 'whore' in my fake notes on the first day in Chemistry, I could remember ironically. Luckily I had Neji, and I would have chosen him anyway, I figured, even if Sakura _was_ talking to me.

So Neji and I sat across from each other at a lab table on the flimsy benches. Kimimaro was a lazy teacher, I'd noticed. He didn't require goggles or lab coats, and in fact, he didn't really care much for the progress of the students. He just stared at Sasuke's desk like he was reading a book in his mind.

But I admired him nonetheless, and I decided mixing chemicals together might be fun. But it turned out to be boring as hell, and Neji and I just sat there, Neji texting and me just staring at Sakura.

Sakura was chatting it up with her new friend, and they seemed to be getting pretty chummy with each other. The whorish girl today had half her butt crack showing, and I desperately wanted to take a picture and sell it on EBay titling the product 'Slut-crack' and making at least fifteen dollars to pay for a bag of gummy worms every other day of next week.

I could hear Sakura's voice from here. Sugary-sweet, and so fake I wanted to get sick. What was she talking about now? Some kind of hair product? What the hell was Bumble and Bumble, a chap stick made out of bee's wax?

Then I heard my name, and I leaned forward on the table stiffly.

"Yeah, me and TenTen had a bit of a falling out recently," Sakura was saying, with a happy-go-lucky air. "I suppose we just went our separate ways…" Did she really think I couldn't hear this? No, she was doing this on purpose, I could tell. The way she was talking louder than average, even Neji could hear, and he was listening as well, looking up at me from his cell phone, watching my face. She was doing this on purpose, to get me mad. And she only went on.

"I mean, I've grown up, recently, if you can tell," Sakura continued. "I've done some talking with a few people, and I've dropped some old alliances, because they're just a little too immature for me. And TenTen's just one of those people. She just doesn't know when to quit, you know?"

"Oh, I totally understand," the whorish girl said, and she went on with a story about some boyfriend she once had, a story she obviously thought slightly resembled Sakura's situation.

I turned to stare at the tabletop, and saw from the corner of my eye Neji set his cell phone down. But before he could say anything, I said his name.

"Neji…" He said nothing, waited for me expectantly. I didn't look up at him, but I spoke directly to him, very quietly under my breath.

"Am I doing something wrong?" His lips parted in confusion. I continued. "'What you want the most is what you'll never get.' I understand that. Sakura was right on that part. But is something wrong with not giving up?"

I felt my hands curl into fists on my lap. "I don't understand who's wrong and who's right," I said softly. I slowly looked up, and I pulled my hands to my hair. Neji gazed at me as I let my hair fall from its two buns.

"All I know is…" I said, and I stood up from my bench. My heart was beating hard, adrenaline was pumping through me. I could feel Kimimaro's gaze suddenly snap to me, and stay there, hard and unwavering and interested. The noises in the room, the clacks and bangs and vibrations, the laughs and giggles and voices from the stupid idiots, they didn't matter, all of it was mindless noise and chatter and buzzing to me.

"I can't stop moving forward…" I finished, and suddenly, I swept my arm along the table.

There was a tremendous crashing sound that made the entire room go silent in shock as I sent the tableful of glass beakers and test tubes go smashing to the ground. Kimimaro didn't move, didn't even react. Neji stood up, staring at me, but I only had eyes for one person.

"Sakura…" I said, and I turned to her. I felt my long hair tumbling across my shoulders. She stared at me, wide-eyed. But I wouldn't let her speak. "You said you like my hair down," I said. I was absolutely expressionless and blank. "Remember? You said I look pretty like this. You said I should put it down more often." I tried to control my breathing, but it was coming in strangely. "Well, now you can do something for me."

I pointed at Sakura, and I said something I never thought I'd say to her in my entire life.

"Fight me."

The entire class stood up, backing away warily and whispering excitedly between themselves, as she stared at me. Then suddenly, she smirked and stood up as well, a hand delicately lain on the table top. "So, you're still going," she said in a low, hollow voice. She looked up at me.

"Fine."

The whole class gasped again, and she continued. "I'll fight you. I'm not in a good mood anyways."

I felt my lips curve in a smile as the entire class backed away against the walls now, ever watching. I saw one person dart out suddenly, probably to go tell everyone there was a fight in the room. Kimimaro was staring at me. I knew Neji was probably staring at me. But I didn't care.

_"I don't know who's wrong and who's right…"_

I faced Sakura directly, my eyes narrowing and gazing into her own, making sure I watched her every move.

_"All I know is…"_

I swept my hair over my shoulder.

_"I can't stop moving forward!"_

I leapt up, jumped onto one the desk I was in front of, and with a loud yell I had dashed from one desk to the next, raised a fist, and hurled myself at the girl who before I'd been risking my life to save. I'd cried for her, I'd bled for her…

She ran underneath the punch, and I landed on the ground and turned myself around in a split second. She turned around as well, I saw anger in her eyes, and she ran at me. I dodged one punch, then another. She tried one more, and it hit my own fist, causing me to stumble backwards, but then I twisted around, clasped my hands together, and, hitting a desk and causing it to go flying out of my way, I swung my connected fists together and slammed it under Sakura's chin.

She went stumbling backwards with a pained grunt, and I tried running at her again, but I saw over her shoulder something strange.

Temari was there, standing in the doorway. I didn't know where she came from. I didn't know why she was there. But she was smiling…

Distracted by Temari, I didn't notice Sakura grab my collar. She hoisted me into the air with a foot to my stomach, and she kicked me away. I landed on my back on a desk with a yelp. As Sakura leaned over, regaining her breath, I rolled onto the floor, jumped to my feet, and ran at her again, feeling my hair flying behind me.

I got her in the face with my fist, and with a furious cry I tried once more, punching her so hard she was slammed onto the ground on her back.

Taking advantage of this, I threw myself on top of her, holding my hands to her shoulders in a violent grip.

"You're a fucking coward!" I finally screamed in her face, my hair falling over my shoulders.

She struggled beneath me, but I wouldn't let her move. "You're not growing up! You're just giving up! You're just afraid of being hurt _more_, and you think that's fucking _mature_! It's _not_! Giving up isn't right, and you've just stopped going forward all together!"

I felt tears sparkle in my eyes, as Sakura stared up at me, her own green eyes wide and furious and confused. "I promised I would kill anyone that hurt Sakura-chan!" I sobbed, letting the tears fall and drip onto her face. "And because you're such a goddamn liar and a coward, you hurt Sakura-chan!"

I lifted my fist again.

"You hurt Sakura-chan," I wept.

"I'll kill you."

But before I could let my fist drop onto that face that I suddenly hated so much, I felt a pale, cold hand grab my wrist and pull me to my feet.

"That's enough, TenTen," said a deep, calm voice; Kimimaro took his other arm and dipped it under me, then grabbed my shoulder and pulled me back from Sakura.

I froze for a second, then I let out an angry cry and struggled in his arms, trying my hardest to get to Sakura, but Kimimaro was strong and I couldn't get loose.

Sakura clambered to her feet, panting, and then tried to advance, but suddenly Naruto and Shikamaru came from the doorway and grabbed her, pulling her back. I saw the boy that had run from the room come back in, and promised myself I'd pummel him.

"Let me go!" Sakura roared furiously at the boys, and tried to struggle, but they too were strong.

I saw in the corner of the room Hinata standing there with tears in her eyes, her hands to her mouth. Ino had an arm around her shoulders, and Temari was still standing in the door, smiling away. When did they all get there? It all made me so goddamn angry, and Sakura and I both kept struggling against our bonds, but we couldn't get loose, we couldn't get to each other, so all I could do was yell at her.

"You're just a coward! You're just a liar and a filthy coward! You're a weakling who's too scared to face her own feelings!"

"So what if I'm a weakling?! You're just a violent bitch!"

"That's nothing compared to you!" I screamed. "Show me! If you can't let go of Sasuke, if you can't move on and return Lee's feelings, I want to fucking _hear it_! _Say it_!"

"You don't understand anything about me!" Sakura cried. I was about to interrupt her, but then I saw tears clinging in the corners of her eyes. I grit my teeth, and waited. "If I could be an idiot like you I would!"

I froze. Kimimaro lessened his grip slightly. The tears broke free of Sakura's eyes, and trailed down her face. "I want to be an idiot too!" she sobbed. "I want to be an idiot who only knows how to move forward! But if I did, if I moved forward, Lee would follow me, wouldn't he?! He'd _die_ for me, wouldn't he?!"

I felt Kimimaro let me go. Naruto and Shikamaru lessened their grips on Sakura now. She sagged in their arms, weeping. "That's just what people do for me, is sacrifice so much! And all because I'm their precious cherry blossom…If I move any farther, you'll all end up dead, _especially_ him!"

Naruto and Shikamaru both let Sakura go, and she dropped to the ground on her knees, her pink bangs hiding her face as she shook with sobs.

Everyone stared at her as she wept, and I stood in front of Kimimaro, watching her as well.

"You really are as sweet as I imagined."

Sakura gasped, and everyone's heads snapped to the doorway. Lee stood there, next to Temari. "I love you. From the bottom of my heart," he said, and he smiled at the shocked Sakura.

"And I don't regret it."

Suddenly, he bowed, and tears of his own splashed out of his eyes, and I felt like my heart was being ripped to pieces.

"Thank you very much!" he yelled quite formally.

Sakura stared at him, wide and teary eyed.

And I dropped to my knees, staring at the floor.

And after that, before the teachers came to control the situation, there was nothing we could do.

**H**i**n**a**t**a

Half the class, and the class that some boy from the Chemistry room had managed to gather up when he'd notified everyone of the fight between Sakura and TenTen, had volunteered to clean up the classrooms. School was over now, and people were still hanging behind. There was a ton of gossipy babble going around, which I ignored as I walked away. Shikamaru, Ino and Temari were hanging behind, talking with one another. As I walked slowly down the hallway, I overheard what they were saying.

"I guess TenTen's suspended, then."

"Well of course she is," Shikamaru replied to Temari. "And so is Sakura. It doesn't matter anyways, it's the day before the raid."

"But will TenTen be okay?" Ino asked. "I mean, you saw her face, right? She was…distraught! She was crying, I've never seen TenTen cry like that…"

"She'll be fine," Temari said. "Come on, let's go. She's probably up in a tree in the backyard or something. Sakura went back to their apartment, I heard."

I had stopped walking by now. I heard the footsteps, and Shikamaru and Ino passed me without saying anything. But Temari, holding tight to Shikamaru's hand, slowed down and said under her breath:

"Are your feelings of guilt gone?"

I gasped, my eyes widened, and I watched as Temari walked away with Shikamaru, who glanced down at her, then tightened his grip on her hand.

I then heard footsteps behind me again, and I turned and saw a face that I'd been blindly hoping to see. "Lee!"

He glanced over at me as I hurried to him. "Hinata-chan…" he said slowly.

"Lee-san," I greeted him, breathing hard. "I…I need to ask a favor of you!" His eyes widened, and he stared at me. "I need you to help-"

"-Hinata-chan…" Lee interrupted me politely, and suddenly he glanced at the ground. "I...know what you're going to say. You want me to help Sakura-chan. Am I right?" I said nothing, but that only guaranteed that yes, he was right. He looked up at me, and said softly, "I'm sorry, Hinata-chan, but…at this time, I've done all I can for Sakura-chan."

My eyes widened.

"I'm sorry…" Lee whispered again.

"But there is nothing I can do…"

**T**e**n**T**e**n

Back at home, Sakura didn't show up.

I didn't expect her to. I didn't want her to. There was no hole left to fill. But it still hurt. It hurt a lot. It really did.

Of course, there was a lot off of my chest. A _lot_. And I found myself feeling just a little better as I sat in the living room with the gang, minus Hinata and Naruto, who were out somewhere getting supplies for the raid tomorrow, and Sasuke, who was still apparently at Sai's.

No one said anything about the fight with Sakura. I hadn't gotten the chance to see Hinata yet, however, and I was expecting something from her. But the others…they acted as if I was still me. As if I was still acting normally. That the slight nosebleed and small bruises on my face from the slam on the desk didn't even exist. Like nothing happened.

And I could tell they were all concerned. And I could tell that I was hiding something deep and painful. But it _was_ as if nothing had happened, really. I could find no change, at all.

So when the doorbell rang, I jumped to my feet ecstatically and sang, "I got it!" It gave me an enormous sense of pride to answer the door for _my_ gang.

Temari sniggered. "You're like a dog, Ten," she said as I skipped over to the door. "Yay, TenTen-puppy!" Ino giggled, delighted.

I opened the door with a large swing. "Drop all weapons!" I ordered, then blinked in surprise. "…Sai?"

He raised an eyebrow. Chouji was behind him, and he immediately began to laugh.

"Yes…" he said slowly.

I pouted. "…Drop all weapons!" I repeated sternly.

"Let 'em in, TenTen," Shikamaru called to me from Temari's lap. "He emailed me earlier, I gave him permission to come over."

I glared at him as I walked back to the sofa and plopped down next to Neji. "Don't try anything funny," I warned him. "Neji's watching you! Right, Neji?"

"Uh…sure," Neji said, glancing at me as I grinned excitedly; I knew what a visit from Sai meant, as Chouji closed the door behind them and the two walked over to the only open sofa. It meant that some serious business was going down, and I was definitely in on it.

I noticed Chouji and Ino glance at each other briefly, but I was distracted by Sai as he began to speak. "Sorry to call upon you with such short notice. Unfortunately, we have a few minor set-backs we desperately need to discuss with you."

"Significantly you, Hyuuga," Chouji added.

Neji raised an eyebrow. "Why not bring Uchiha into this as well?"

Sai sighed, and Chouji said darkly "Uchiha? That's what we came here for."

Shikamaru slowly raised his head out of Temari's lap and stared at Chouji and Sai, but he said nothing. Neji was silent, as it began to sink in. "It seems," Sai said grimly, confirming everyone's beliefs, "that he is missing."

"That…" Neji said dully, obviously trying to find the right word. It was even quieter as he searched for it, then Shikamaru finished for him:

"Sucks."

"…Yeah…" Neji said, closing his eyes.

Chouji shrugged. "I'm going to tell you what I told Sai when our tech first found out; deal with it. Not a big deal. He's just gone off with Matsuri and the rest."

"…Wait, what?" Neji asked, head snapping up.

Everyone noticed Shikamaru leaning back into the sofa wearily, looking a little angry. Temari frowned and pulled herself leisurely into his lap. "You knew, didn't you baby?" she asked almost sadly. He only nodded, and Sai stared at him, unblinking.

"It's alright, Nara," he said understandably. "The techs are getting an impossible amount of stress right now. Especially you, you're the best in the city. And with all the pressure, knowing you have to fight soon…it's bound to be hard on you."

"Wait, enlighten me," Neji snapped, interrupting them as Temari smiled piteously and rubbed Shikamaru's arms gently. "What's going on?"

Sai turned back to him as if only just remembering he was there. "Ah…Well, it seems Matsuri's been planning a raid of her own. Another secret raid, involving only a select group of people."

"Matsuri?" Ino asked, mouth agape. "No fair! She never told me!" She crossed her arms childishly. "I'm gonna have to take away her gloss for that," she muttered under her breath. "_And_ her hair products!"

Chouji seemed to be having trouble not to burst out laughing again, and Sai simply ignored her. But I was feeling a little betrayed as well. "Wait a minute, she never told me either!" I cried. " Was she really _that_ good at hiding it?!"

Temari nodded. "I agree…I know Karin, and Karin is an absolute master when observing people. Karin would have told me if she noticed anything out of the ordinary regarding Matsuri." Ino and I both nodded vigorously.

Sai narrowed his eyes. "Well, Karin wouldn't have told you, because she was in on it." Temari gave a sudden, furious hiss, and Ino and I gaped. "And of course she wouldn't tell you, TenTen." Sai suddenly turned to me, and I could feel everyone's eyes fixed on me.

"What…do you mean…?" I asked slowly.

"Well, she needed something from you first…" Sai said very slowly.

Shikamaru suddenly sat up straight and stared at me, eyes wide. "You let her…" he said.

"What…what are you talking about?" I insisted, starting to get scared. What had I done? What had _Matsuri _done?!

"You have…well _had_…something she needed before she went on this little expedition," Chouji said loudly, sounding slightly impatient. "Something that will help her get into the place where Orochimaru is at his weakest, at his most vulnerable." When I simply stared at him, he added, "At _home_…"

My eyes widened. "The…the key?" I asked. "The key to Orochimaru's third station, you mean? But…but I have it!" I jumped to my feet suddenly, and everyone watched me as I ran over to the coffee table, reached beneath it, and pulled out my schoolbag. I fished around inside the inner pocket, where I usually kept my gun and a few knives, and felt around the weak fabric. "I always keep it…in here…" I mumbled distractedly. But I felt nothing. Just…empty fabric…

"…TenTen…" Sai said. "…It's not in there now. It's gone. Matsuri took it, and obviously she used it to get into Orochimaru's third station. Or…she's _using_ it, or she's _going_ to use it."

I stood up slowly, staring at him, appalled. I could hardly believe my ears, but Sai only kept going, this time addressing the entire room. "I don't exactly know Matsuri and the others' full intentions," he said. "All I know is that their cell phones are off, and stored in the basement of Matsuri's house, which is why no one's been able to contact them recently. I also happen to know that, before Sasuke's own cell phone was turned off, he left your hideout to Matsuri's house. Most likely someone snuck in last night around midnight and offered him a position in the raid. It might be, that now that their team is complete, they've already headed out, and they've been lying low recently in order to prepare. Or that they're still lying low today, and waiting for a moment to come soon."

"Either way, Uchiha's gone, and it's not our business," Chouji finished for his leader. "We have other things to worry about, you can all agree." The rest of us said nothing, but I could tell we were all nodding on the inside. "So…" Chouji continued. "…we'll just attend to those matters _after_ the raid. For now, we can't leave your team without a leader. We've already assigned Shiho as the leader of Matsuri's team, Fuun is going to lead Karin's team, Kiba is leading Kankerou's, and Soutetsu, Gaara's. Of course this is only temporary, we've lost no hope for all your gangs in the city. This is just to fill in the gaps in case of emergency."

"But there's one gang missing, and this gang will have a bit of a change." Sai suddenly stood up. "This _isn't_ temporary, because Uchiha has made one too many a mistake." Neji narrowed his eyes, curious. I kept glancing between Sai and Neji, wondering what was gong to happen. Ino had her hands to her mouth, Shikamaru and Temari were staring at Sai, and Chouji was smiling magnificently.

"We do not doubt Uchiha's reaction; he'll want this as well. You can see it in his eyes, and in everyone else's; he doesn't deserve the position, and he doesn't want it any more than he deserves it. There is only one person who can uphold the reputation of Team Uchiha, one person that has been able to keep his head leveled and stay strong this entire time." Sai was staring straight into Neji's eyes, who was absolutely blank-faced, not saying a word. "There is one person," Sai continued, "who has the least amount of weaknesses I have ever seen, and he is in this room, and he is _not_ Nara, because Nara has Temari. No, Hyuuga…"

Sai pointed at Neji. "You're the new leader of Team Uchiha, Neji Hyuuga, and you'll accept the position, or accept the punishments."

There was a silence, in which Ino twitched involuntarily, Temari and Shikamaru stared in amazement at Sai, and I gazed at Neji, not believing my ears.

Sai frowned. "So?" he asked darkly, crossing his arms and facing Neji. Neji was staring straight ahead still, and it was obvious he was thinking it over. "You don't accept the position, you're out of the gang, and if you're out of the gang, you _will_ die. What do you say?"

Neji's mouth opened, and I couldn't believe what he was saying.

"I'll accept," he said hoarsely, but calmly, and Sai smirked as Chouji grinned triumphantly.

Ino jumped to her feet and sat down again skittishly, and Shikamaru leaned back into the sofa slowly, holding Temari quite tightly, who was glaring at her knuckles, seeming very deep in thought. "I thought you'd do the right thing," Sai said, and he sounded positively gleeful, if he could be.

I found myself smiling so hugely it hurt my cheeks. "Neji?! Really?! My leader is _Neji_ now?!" I squealed, unable to contain it. Sai smiled almost fondly as I grabbed Neji's arm excitedly and hugged it. "Neji! That's great!" I said up to him, and he stared down at me, and suddenly seemed to have a slight revelation, and whipped his head around to stare at his lap. I blinked in confusion, but Sai continued.

"Hyuuga, I trust you to govern-"

"Wait," Neji said, and Sai paused, and wet his lips.

"You're…having second guesses…?" Sai wondered, seeming disappointed.

Neji shook his head. "Not really. But there's one thing I have to make certain." He looked up slowly, and the look in his eyes made my heart skip a beat. But not as quickly as the next thing he said did…

"TenTen has to stay my sidekick."

My hands slipped from his arms. Sai's eyes widened, and I could almost _feel_ Temari's brilliant smile from across the room. Sai cleared his throat, and glanced at Chouji. But Chouji was chuckling, and pointed at me.

"Who wouldn't?" he asked lightheartedly. "Isn't she something? Man, for a little girl to press a gun to my back, _and_ change Hyuuga's mind?! It's rich!" He laughed even harder, and Sai turned back to Neji, bewildered.

"Hyuuga…you can't afford any setbacks," he said simply as Neji faced forward, without blinking.

"I know. And that's why I'm assigning her my sidekick," Neji said smoothly. "Are there any problems with that? Maybe, personally? Because I can work that out with you just fine, Sai. I am, after all, a gang leader, am I not?" I felt my mouth drop open at the perfectly cool way he said that, and Sai frowned.

"No problems here, I'm just…advising you-"

"You've given me all the advice I need today," Neji interrupted him. "Listen…I've just been reassigned. This may take…more than an hour." He scratched his head almost sheepishly, and Sai smiled.

"I understand. We'll be out of your way." He turned to his sniggering comrade. "Chouji."

"See ya'll on the flip side." Chouji stood, and with one last glance shared by Ino, he led the way out of the door. They paused, however. "Oh, by the way," Chouji said over his shoulder, concentrated on something outside of the door. "It seems Lee and Kiba have come to visit. We told them about the raid tomorrow, they're trustworthy enough. So I'd expect a bit of a…party in here." Chouji gave a cheerful wink, then left.

As I sat there, still wondering what the _hell_ just happened, I felt like I was about to faint, because at that moment, I felt so proud, my heart was too full to handle itself. But suddenly, there was a brown blur, and a sobbing Kiba was rushing at me, and hugged me tightly.

"TenTen…thank you…thank you…thank you…" he started saying over and over again. If I was any other person, as Lee walked into the room, grinning at the scene, I _would have_ fainted, because it was all happening so fast. But I held Kiba tightly and happily, and tried not to cry myself as he wept into me. "Thank you for standing up for me, you're the only one…the only one…thank y-you…thank you…"

It really was hard. Not to cry too, I mean. It was.

**S**a**k**u**r**a

The blood in my nose was taking an unnaturally long time to clot. It seemed TenTen had broken a tiny bit of cartilage. Not a big deal, it would heal in a few days' time.

It always did…

It was raining outside. I sat near the window, staring at the glass. It was dark, pitch black. The rain was hitting the glass in a steady tattoo, and dripped down quickly to gather at the sill, and pour off in a sheet to hit the pavement of the parking lot below. The cherry tree outside was soaked, the bare branches seemingly petrified from the uncharacteristic cold of the gathering spring.

Every time the thunder rolled gently through the dark grey clouds, I would look for lightning, but none came. It was only a thunder storm, with some rain showers here and there. But I kept searching, gazing past the glittering drops clinging to the clear glass like perspiration.

In my heart, I was hiding something. Hiding secrets, and pain, and tears, and I would not allow them to fall from me. Because I was mature now, wasn't I? That's what Shiho made perfectly clear. I wasn't supposed to express my emotions so effortlessly. It wasn't supposed to be so easy to break down.

It wasn't supposed to hurt this much, was it?

It was…just broken cartilage…

**T**e**n**T**e**n

"TenTen, stop falling," Neji ordered yet again in exasperation.

I picked myself slowly up from the wet ground, feeling the soggy dirt clinging to my clothes and trying to brush it off, sweeping away the sticks and small twigs that snagged on Neji's jacket that I'd zipped up all the way to my chin.

"It's not my fault!" I complained. "The grass is slippery!"

Thunder rumbled up over our heads once again, and Neji could barely be heard over it. "Then you'd better hope to hell it's not raining again tomorrow, hadn't you?" He himself was drenched head to toe, just like me, and his bare arms, shoulders barely covered by the short-sleeved black shirt he'd had underneath his brown sports jacket I now acquired, were covered in the grime and slop from the ground of the backyard that we'd been training in.

I didn't know when it began raining. Sometime when Kiba and Lee came over. They were still inside. Kiba was with Ino, the two of them making brownies, and Lee and Shikamaru were having a friendly conversation, or at least that's how it was when Temari suggested Neji and I go train in the backyard, since it was the day before the raid and we had only so much time left.

"Alright, let's try again," Neji said loudly over the hiss and spit of the rain. "And this time keep on your feet. And remember that neck thing I taught you."

I nodded obediently, and backed up, readying myself for another attack from Neji. He stood still for a minute, analyzing me, and then he ran, and I braced myself. I had no idea how he could move so swiftly and easily in the rain, but as usual it was like he was at home when he was fighting. He lifted a fist, and I dodged it, but I could see his plan through.

He'd missed on purpose. He quickly slammed his hand onto the ground, and used a round-house kick to try and get me in the stomach. I quickly leapt over his leg, and twirled around in the rain as skillfully as I could, but I stumbled. It was brief, but I dreaded the outcome, and tried to recover as quickly as possible by bringing my hands together and trying to slam them into Neji's still bent back. But he ducked under the punch, grabbed me by the shoulders, and threw me easily to the side and onto the ground.

I groaned after I slid to a stop, and spit out the grass and rain in my mouth. shivering. Neji strode over and took me more gently by the shoulders, hoisting me carefully to my feet. He sighed, not letting me go. "Look at you," he muttered, scanning me uncomfortably with his eyes. "You're gonna get a cold like this."

"No I won't!" I defended myself immediately.

Neji frowned at me, unconvinced, but changed the subject. "Do you know what you did wrong?"

I looked down at the ground beneath me, fighting the pout that tried to come to my lips. "I slipped on the grass and gave you an extra second," I muttered dully.

"Exactly," Neji said, and he winced at another roll of thunder. "Come on. You'll get sick, all wet like this."

"No, I _won't_!" I repeated, snapping my head up again to glare at him. "Sakura said I have a great immune-!" But I paused, and Neji did as well, watching me.

I slowly looked down at the ground, and then, I slipped from Neji's hands and down onto my butt on the wet, grassy floor. I was suddenly exhausted, and I wanted nothing less than to sleep and never wake up again. But Neji sat down as well across from me, not minding the mud in the least.

"Do you want to talk about her?" Neji asked me finally. "Or not?"

I looked up at him. "…I don't know…" I admitted quietly. I slowly took my hands up to my hair, and he watched me intensely as I let my hair fall again. There was no need for it in buns, but also, for some reason I really wanted my hair down again, now that I'd said her name. It was just a feeling.

Neji tilted his head to the side, and I let him stare at me. I didn't really care at the moment. It was like I wasn't even looking at him, I was looking at something else. I was thinking about something, but I didn't know what I was thinking about…

"TenTen, have you ever thought that the rain wouldn't stop?"

I blinked, and my eyes seemed to come back to focus. I was confused, as Neji gazed at me with those big, violet eyes. I couldn't really tell how long we'd been sitting like this, now. Time was moving slowly, then quickly again. I felt a little queasy…

"…No," I said finally, feeling a little overwhelmed.

"I once wondered that," Neji said, tilting his head up to look at the sky. My eyes followed the enticing way his hair fell over his shoulders. "One time I went outside in the rain, and wondered if it would ever stop. It seemed like it was falling so confidently that it fell for a reason, you know?" I felt my lips part. I'd never heard words like this coming from his mouth. It was…beautiful. Strange. Capricious. Incoherent. But beautiful…

"Then I wondered if that reason…" he said, and he looked down at me, and smiled, something I rarely saw in him. "…I wondered if that reason was someone else."

I felt myself smile as well. "Actually…I have felt that before…" I said honestly, staring at those eyes. They were so…innocent, something he just…_wasn't_, but…but then he was…

It was strange. I hadn't felt myself getting this close to him. But I was there, I felt myself moving closer, and soon enough I was on top of him, and I didn't know when it happened, but I was. He was on his back, and I was tracing that beautiful face with my fingers, and he was smiling up at me, his own hand running through my hair, and our lips got closer…

And then there was a bang, and those eyes closed tightly, and everything ended. When I couldn't see his eyes anymore, it all just stopped, and everything came back to me, and I remembered what was going on.

There was blood, and Neji's cry of pain made me roll off of him in surprise, confusion, and utter, terrified shock. "N…Neji?!"

Then there was another bang, and I recognized it; a gun shot. But I recognized it too late; Neji cried out again, and groaned in pain. And I saw where the blood came from; two bullet wounds in his left shoulder, one on top of the other, and his hands reached there as he moaned in agony, curling over on himself, then his hands retreated, it was too painful to touch…

And that's when I jumped to my feet, realizing what was going on, and whipped out the knife inside of Neji's pocket quickly. My eyes scanned the backyard. Everything was pitch black. It was absolutely silent and calm, except for, of course, the rain, the thunder, and Neji's groaning on the ground in pain and agony.

"Sh…Neji…" I whispered, unable to take the sound. But he couldn't hear me over the rain and the thunder. I felt the tears sting my eyes as he managed to grind through his teeth, "TenTen…!" but I ignored him. I needed to find the attacker…

Finally, I saw something move behind the tall wooden fence, and I narrowed my eyes in triumph; I found him! Suddenly it felt like a dream, and I didn't really care if that person right there died. I felt dizzy, and the world was spinning, but for some reason…I was perfectly okay. I carefully fixed my gaze on something else instead; a clump of leaves in the treetop that slightly resembled something alive. Even though I knew it was nothing, I aimed the knife so it looked like I was aiming for that, so I was clear. And then, I let the knife fly.

It soared through the air, then did a curve, and in a split second I heard a loud scream of pain, and a thump, and infuriated yelps. I grinned. "I got him, Neji!" I assured him confidently. My aim was as perfect as ever! I was proud, proud suddenly that I didn't miss, that Neji saw, that I was going to help him!

"N-No…TenTen…!" he yelled out, his voice shaking.

"It's okay, Neji," I said, turning to him and smiling, beginning to kneel down before him. "It's okay, I got him, I'll go get-!"

"_TenTen_!"

My smile froze on my face in confusion when I saw my arms reach out, and next to them another pair of arms. They were dressed in dark black, and they curled under me and grabbed me, and I felt something familiar, a pair of cool hands I'd felt before. And I really, really wanted to throw up, but more than that…I really, really wanted to go to sleep now…and so I did. I closed my eyes, and went to sleep.

**X**X**X**X**X**

I'm not telling you what's going on here, so don't ask. I will see you soon, my collectible bunnies!  
Re-Read & Edited while listening to: _Mad World_ by _Adam Lambert_


	36. Mikazaru

Here's something that may excite some of you: **Mikazaru – **Hear No Evil (TenTen) **Mizaru – **See No Evil (Sakura) **Mazaru **– Speak No Evil (Hinata)

**X**X**X**X**X**

**H**e**a**r **N**o **E**v**i**l_  
See no evil. Speak no evil._

**D**i**s**c**l**a**i**m**e**r: Oh emm eff gee, I don't own Naruto. :)  
**S**o**n**g**s**: _Let It Rock _by _Kevin Rudolf_

C**h**. **T**h**i**r**t**y **N**i**n**e – Mikazaru

_And you take your time_  
_And you stand in line_  
_Well you'll get what's yours_  
_I've got mine_

**T**e**n**T**e**n

I was lying on something soft beneath me, and I could feel a pair of hands holding me. But they weren't the same pale, cold ones that had grabbed me before. They were still familiar, though.

I could barely open my eyes. I felt sick to my stomach, and for some reason I started to shake as soon as I got consciousness. To me, it was as if my bones were suddenly weak and fragile, as if they'd break if I tried to walk.

I was in a car, I realized soon, and I was lying, and being held in, someone's lap. I could hear the whistle of the air outside, and feel the vibrations as we hit bumps in the road.

I slowly opened my eyes. I was facing the back of the driver's seat and the passenger seat of a crossover with a black leather interior. I groaned aloud when the seats immediately started spinning in my vision and a blinding pain flashed across my forehead. Everything was cold, and I could feel a chilly sweat covering my body. I felt some hands tighten on me, however, and a concerned, deep voice asked, "TenTen, can you sit up?"

I nodded dumbly. I couldn't tell who it was, but I let him help me slowly up into a sitting position next to him. Then I got my bearings, blinked my eyes a few times, and looked over to see Neji.

"Neji!" I shouted immediately, and filled with joy I hugged him, without really thinking, or caring. Neji hesitated, but held me reassuringly. "You're okay! I can't believe it, what happened?!" I cried, pulling back and smiling up at him brilliantly.

He stared at me for a while, seeming a little confused for a second, then coughed. "He…um…" His eyes strayed to the driver's seat, and I blinked and turned to look.

Kimimaro leaned over so I could see him, and smiled politely back at me. "Hello."

"Sensei!" I hadn't been this excited in a while. I grinned. "Hi!"

"TenTen, I got fired," he said reasonably, turning back to the steering wheel. "You don't need to call me sensei anymore."

"But you _are_ my sensei," I said with a frown. "Whether you got fired or not." I heard a frustrated huff from Neji, and turned back to him. I glanced at Kimimaro, then back to Neji. "Did you…?" I stared at Neji's shoulder, where the bullets had hit him, I could remember vaguely. He noticed my eyes there, and, with difficulty since I was still hugging him (I wasn't about to let go), he pulled his shirt down slightly so I could see some bandages there. I glanced at Kimimaro, and smiled again. "You healed him?" I turned back to Neji. He nodded slowly.

I felt a happiness and relief that I hadn't felt in a while, and I hugged Neji even tighter. "Thank you…" I said to Kimimaro softly, resting my head on Neji's chest. Neji was frozen, and Kimimaro smiled out of the corner of my eye.

After a while, Kimimaro cleared his throat. "Well, you needed some healing yourself."

"What do you mean?" I straightened up, and Neji and I finally let go of each other. I took the opportunity to glance around me. I couldn't tell from looking out the windows where we were, but we were in Konoha, and we were going fast, way beyond the speed limit. "I don't remember anything…" I said slowly.

"You passed out," Neji said.

Kimimaro nodded. "It seems you're sick, TenTen, and badly so," he said, sounding almost amused. "You have a terrible fever, you're lucky I was there to take out the other men."

"The…other men…?" I asked dumbly. It was pitch black, I could see out the windows of the car. Rain was staining the glass, and whipping through the air outside. I was chilly, and pulled a jacket that was around my shoulders closer. I realized it was Neji's, and remembered training with him. Wow. Not too long ago, we'd been training. I felt like I had been asleep for hours. Or days. Or I was still asleep.

"TenTen, do you even know who you took out back there?" Kimimaro asked, raising an eyebrow as he sped through a red light to the indignant honking of the other cars.

"…I…I don't know, I couldn't see him," I admitted.

"He was Zabuza, TenTen." My mouth dropped open, everything froze for me. "You've met before," Kimimaro continued.

"Is he…dead…?" I asked slowly.

"Yes." I felt my heart stop, I thought I was going to throw up.

"N…No…" I whispered, shaking my head. "I…I didn't…"

"No, you didn't kill him," Kimimaro assured me quickly. "Actually, the one you threw the knife at was Haku, who was there with Zabuza. He threw himself in front of Zabuza, and Zabuza killed himself after Haku died."

I felt tears fill my eyes. "No…No, I didn't…"

"TenTen, it wasn't your fault," Kimimaro said easily. "I was shadowing you and Neji, and Zabuza and Haku had been assigned by Orochimaru to kill me. I didn't mean to bring you and Neji into trouble, but I was going to take you anyways. Haku and Zabuza were probably going to die anyways, I was going to kill them myself."

I shook my head, biting my lip. "I liked them…" I said sadly.

Kimimaro and Neji were both silent for a while, then Kimimaro said softly, "This is what it's like to live here, TenTen. There's nothing you can do for them now."

I said nothing. Neji sat up straight now, one hand touching his wounded shoulder lightly. "Well…where are we going now?" he asked carefully. "TenTen's awake now, are you gonna talk?"

Kimimaro thinned his lips. "I'm taking you far away from Orochimaru."

Neji and I blinked. "…What?" Neji asked.

"I'm not risking the two of you in this war," Kimimaro summed up simply. "There's going to be a raid tomorrow, if I'm not mistaken, and you two are going to partake in it." He shook his head. "That's stupid. Not if I can help it. No, I'm not letting you kids run around like you actually _know_ what you're doing."

"Kimimaro, you're in no position to do this," Neji snapped angrily. He reached in his pocket, and narrowed his eyes. Kimimaro noticed and explained:

"I took the liberty of taking away you and TenTen's weapons. Maybe you didn't notice when I was healing you?"

Neji grit his teeth visibly, and Kimimaro sighed. "I understand why you'd be upset with me, but you're only kids…"

"Sensei, we can't leave our friends to fight on their own," I said, lacing my hands together nervously. "Just let us out, okay? Now."

"No, TenTen," Kimimaro said loudly. "You two don't understand! There aren't any 'gangs'." Neji and I were silent, listening with frustration. "There are no 'teams' or 'sides'. There's just a bunch of stupid kids that think they know what they're doing but they _don't_." I felt my hands form into fists. What the hell was he going on about?! "Do you think_ teenagers_ can stop Orochimaru with one little 'raid'. It's not a raid! It's a bunch of kids that are so impressionable they're trying to murder each other in the same way adults do. You're trying to grow up too fast, and it's ruining your lives."

I shook my head. "You're wrong. We _know_ what we're doing!"

"_No_, you _don't_, TenTen! You think you can fight, you think you can help the world, and you _can't_! _You're_ sick, TenTen, and Neji, _you're_ wounded!"

I pounded the seat next to me once with my fist. "I can fi-!"

"I'm _not_ letting you out!" Kimimaro interrupted me loudly, and I could tell that there was no convincing him after this. I felt fury surge up into me, I felt like breaking the windows or jumping through the door, but without my weapons, I could do nothing, and I could see from here that the doors were locked anyways. And there was no way Neji and I could take on Kimimaro, especially since he had our weapons on him.

But before giving up completely, an idea came to me. I slowly bent my leg so my foot was near my hand. I had on my boots, and I fingered the heel of them slowly, lifting it up. My fingers crept inside my heel discreetly. Kimimaro didn't notice anything, he was speeding rapidly down the road. I felt around in the heel, and grasped a small knife.

_I'm never out of weapons_, I thought with a grin as I slowly took Neji's hand. He looked down at me in surprise, but I pressed the knife into his hand, and he looked away quickly, understanding. His fingers curled around me, and I felt each of our palms briefly brush each other's scars. My face heated u for a moment with happiness, at knowing _my_ name was on _his_ hand, and his name was on mine.

Neji took the knife from me, and I placed my hands in my lap as Neji immediately whipped it out, reached over, and pressed the blade to Kimimaro's neck.

Kimimaro immediately froze, and gave a grimace that almost looked like an amused smile. "I should have known," he muttered, as if mocking himself.

"Unlock the doors and let us out. _Now_" Neji said coolly.

"You're being stupid," Kimimaro said darkly.

"Stop treating us like idiots, while you're at it," Neji growled.

"Sensei, _please_," I said. "We can't-"

"Stop calling him sensei, would you?" Neji demanded.

"Neji, I respect him, it's not-"

"I'm sick of you _respecting _everyone, TenTen!" he said, frustrated. "What, am I not good enough?!"

I froze, my eyes widening. Did he…want all of my respect? Before, he was annoyed with me, wasn't he? When he first met me, he wouldn't have hesitated to kill me…

But that's…just why I respected him…

Neji seemed to realize what he said and turned back to Kimimaro quickly. "Just…Just stop the car, unlock the doors and let us out, Kimimaro. You're not our sensei, and you're not in any position to tell us what to do."

"Both of you sit down and shut up! This is just what I expected from you, you stupid little-!"

Kimimaro was interrupted with a loud bang, and suddenly the car swerved. I shrieked, and Neji grabbed me automatically. We were all thrown to the side, and Neji made a small noise of discomfort; his shoulder must have been hit.

"Shit!" I heard Kimimaro say as the car stopped, and I heard another shot, and the entire car jumped, then started to lean to one side. I slowly lifted myself up, and Neji did as well, wincing at the pressure he put onto his shoulder and keeping a hand on my arm. Kimimaro slowly sat up, and narrowed his eyes.

"Orochimaru's men must have followed us," he said darkly as we watched a large hummer pull up behind us.

I straightened up all the way. "Then we'll just have to go out and fight them," I said. "…Right?" I finished meekly, looking between Neji and Kimimaro. The two were suddenly staring at each other. And then, Kimimaro nodded, and Neji took a deep breath, and nodded back.

"…What…?" I started, but Neji suddenly took me by the shoulders and pressed me down into the seats. Leaning over me all at once, he looked straight into my eyes as Kimimaro moved over his shoulder, grabbing a handle of the door. "I'm sorry…" he said softly.

"…Neji…" I said quietly, eyes searching his. "What are you…?"

But he pushed me further into the seats, crawled over to the door, and, with a glance at Kimimaro, the two suddenly opened the doors, and slammed them behind them.

I blinked in surprise, and darted to the doors immediately, but there was a noise. I froze and stared at the side door I was reaching for. It was locked. I looked up out the window at Kimimaro, and he was holding up his pair of keys. Neji wasn't looking at me, just taking a gun that Kimimaro handed him, and Kimimaro gave me one glance over his shoulder, and turned around.

And I knew what they were doing; they were leaving me in the car. And they were going to fight Orochimaru's men without me.

Automatically, I grabbed the door handle and slammed it, trying desperately to open the door, my other hand pulling with all my might on the lock, but it wouldn't budge. I pounded on the window, and grit my teeth furiously.

"_Stop it!_" I yelled out of the window as they walked away. They were far from the car by now, though, I could see them walking into the space between Kimimaro's car and the hummer, and I could see three, four, _five_ men coming out of the hummer with sick, drunken grins on their faces…

"No, no, _no_!" I kicked the door, hard, and when that didn't work I darted into the front seat and tried all the buttons, all the locks, all the doors, and then I looked out the window with terror and fury.

"This can't be happening…!" I yelled to myself, punching the window hard and trying not to cry.

Neji wasn't letting me fight?! No! _No_! He _always_ let me fight! _Always_!

"This can't be_ happening_!"

**x**x**x**x**x**

"Let's see. Kimimaro, a traitor. And a little bitch." A man strode forward. Obviously the leader. Kimimaro and Neji both held out their guns, steadily pointed at him. He didn't even twitch.

"Itachi," Kimimaro greeted the man simply. Neji's heart skipped a beat, and forgetting the rules of a fight he'd lain for himself, he took his eyes off of the dark-haired man and stared at Kimimaro in astonishment.

"Don't worry, Kimimaro, I don't want to fight," Itachi said calmly. "I just want your car, actually. Orochimaru's property, you see. But I feel no need to kill you. As I've said, you're a traitor, and the kid next to you, frankly, seems like he'd be a bitch. Worthless, really."

Neji didn't even bother hesitating. His finger pulled the trigger, and he missed purposely, but figured he was making a point. The bullet barely grazed Itachi's cheek; Itachi barely blinked.

"I don't take being called a bitch lightly," Neji said darkly. His voice was hoarse. He didn't care. He was already stressed out enough, it was hard enough to find his senses. After that moment in the backyard with TenTen…He…couldn't think straight. He glared at Itachi. "You're Itachi. Itachi Uchiha?"

"Ah. You've heard of me." Itachi tilted his head to the side. "I'm flattered."

"I know your brother," Neji growled. He felt, suddenly, a fury he hadn't felt in a while. It was overwhelming, sickening.

Itachi's eyes widened. Kimimaro gazed at Neji, bewildered. "Sasuke…" Itachi said in almost a whisper. "That's right. He lives in this stupid little town, doesn't he?" It was as if he was talking to himself, but now he glanced back to Neji. "…How is my stupid little brother, now?" he asked, eyes still large. Neji raised an eyebrow. He could see it now; this man was psychologically insane.

"He's fine, if you could say that," Neji said darkly. "I guess you could say I've replaced you in his life, somewhat."

"Huh." Itachi dragged his tongue along his teeth thoughtfully. "I was right, you are a bitch. Let's get rid of you first, shall we?"

It happened in five seconds. Neji noticed from his peripheral vision a slight movement. Three people were behind him. He and Kimimaro had been careless, they hadn't noticed them sneak around the side of the car, they didn't notice them lurking over their shoulders.

But at the same moment Neji realized this, his mind was also clicking into place the appropriate reaction: Defense.

And that was Neji's forte. He twisted around immediately, and placed his hands on the shoulders of two of them. With one swift movement, he hoisted himself into the air. At the same time as he pushed them into the ground, his one leg swung over as he flipped and slammed into the head of the third man, and he landed on his feet on his back.

Kimimaro stared at the boy with wide eyes. He himself hadn't even _seen_ the men making their move until Neji did, and even so he didn't have time to react. But Neji's response was so quick, sharp, clean and short that it was almost like he could see into the future. This boy, this small boy, was this good?!

Neji kicked the man beneath him once, and shifted around to face Itachi again, gun clicking. Itachi, however, didn't move, only grinned. Neji raised one eyebrow, before realizing his mistake;

There hadn't only been three.

There was a loud gun shot that rang out and silenced the entire street. The fresh mist from the rain still hung heavy in the air. Neji stood still, with his eyes shut, in the middle of the street, and didn't move. Instead, after a long moment of silence that seemed, to him, to go on forever, there was a crumpled thump, and his eyes snapped open.

Kimimaro lay bleeding at his feet, and Itachi was standing, holding out his own gun.

Neji couldn't move. He was confused for a second. He had turned around to see the fourth man that had snuck up behind him, but Itachi had tried shooting instead. Neji was sure that he was going to be the one targeted. But instead, Kimimaro lay at his feet. And Itachi stood grinning almost maniacally.

"Alright, stay still, bitch, while I call for backup. Don't even try running, or I'll shot you," Itachi called, turning around sharply.

Neji still didn't move, just stared at Kimimaro, then he sensed a strange silence, and turned around shortly. TenTen wasn't moving anymore, she was no longer trying to break open the door of the car. She was as stunned as he was, just staring out the window with huge eyes.

And just that face, those big brown eyes, shook Neji out of it, and he threw himself to the ground and grabbed Kimimaro as gently as he could in his desperation.

"No, no, no…" he muttered under his breath in frustration as he turned the man over.

Kimimaro rolled up to face Neji, and his eyes snapped open. He coughed, and blood poured out of his mouth and rolled over his pale chin. The streetlamps above them illuminated his face eerily. Neji grit his teeth. "No…"

But Kimimaro was smiling, as Neji pushed his ivory hair from his face. "Neji…Take care of her…"

Neji knew who he was talking about, but he grit his teeth and shook his head. "…No…You're going to be okay, alright?" he said softly. It sounded like he was trying to convince himself instead.

Kimimaro chuckled throatily, a strange sound, mixed with a cough, and some more blood. "Neji…" he panted, choking on his own saliva and finding it hard to breath. "…You know I'm going to die…" Neji opened his mouth, but Kimimaro interrupted him. "It's alright. I was going to die anyway."

Kimimaro heaved a sigh, drew another long quivering breath back in, to calm himself. Neji noticed he was shaking, his jaw was chattering. "Kimimaro…you need to relax," Neji said softly. "Just-"

"Please, just promise me you'll take care of her…" Kimimaro whispered in a rasp. "Please…You deserve each other, I know it now."

Neji's eyes widened. "…What…do you mean…?"

Kimimaro only gave him a smile that got him a little nervous. Kimimaro chuckled again, and coughed again, and sighed again to calm himself. Then he closed his eyes. "Please promise me…"

There was finally a loud screeching sound, and Neji glanced over his shoulder once. TenTen was prying open the door. "Kimimaro-sensei!" she screamed, and Neji's head whipped back to the man.

Kimimaro's eyes were open. He heard her voice, and another smile came to his face that Neji recognized. A grateful, sad, and blissful smile that he'd smiled before.

"You…love her…" Neji said slowly, wonderingly.

Kimimaro closed his eyes again. Said nothing, did nothing. Confirmed it.

Neji only felt pity, for now. He'd hated this guy before. Now, he pitied him, more than anything.

"What can I do for you?" he mumbled self consciously.

Kimimaro smirked. "Take care of her. Don't let anyone stop her. Let her be free. All that jazz…" He hiccupped strangely, let more blood come from his mouth. He stared right into Neji's eyes now. "…Be what I couldn't be to her, Neji."

Neji shook his head. "No…she's obsessed with you, she…she's always talking about you, she looks up to you, she cares about you, she…J-Just listen to her now!" Why was he feeling so nervous?!

"How would she react differently if I were you right now?" Neji's eyes widened. Kimimaro smiled knowingly. "You understand, Neji? Sure. I'm her sensei. I taught her something that got her a full score on a fucking homework assignment. Big deal. But I'm not _you_."

Neji could recognize bitterness, and he started to say something, but TenTen was suddenly running over. He barely noticed her until she dropped to her knees beside him and took Kimimaro almost tenderly.

Neji saw the tears in her eyes, and just watched her, as she bit her lips. "No…Sensei, come on…" she whispered. Kimimaro opened his eyes, and seemed almost ready to die right then. But TenTen obviously wasn't going to let him. She bit her lip and straightened up a bit, glancing around. The hummer was still there, they could hear the drunken laughs of Itachi and the other man inside. The groans of the three men Neji had struck down were soft and sleepy and unthreatening.

"I…I can call Sakura!" she said suddenly, whipping her head back to Kimimaro determinedly. "She can heal you, she can heal anyone, she can save you, sensei-!"

"TenTen-" He interrupted her, and she stopped talking immediately, attentive. "Listen. You need to go."

She blinked. Neji narrowed his eyes. "…G…Go…?" she stuttered.

"Yes. Go to Orochimaru, and tell him…" he said. His voice was weak, and slurred. Blood was continually coming out of his mouth, Neji wondered where it all came from. It was seeping from the bullet wound, somewhere in his stomach or heart area.

TenTen stared at Kimimaro, wide-eyed. "O…Orochimaru…?"

"Neji and I will hold them all off," Kimimaro whispered. "We won't let them stop you. I promise. You'll have a clear road ahead."

"Wh-what are you…? I Don't know what you're talking about," TenTen said, shaking her head. Her hair was damp with rain and mist, droplets clinging to her eyelashes.

"You'll know what to say."

"No, I don't know what you-!"

"TenTen, _please_!" Kimimaro gasped, and suddenly, he hacked up such an amount of blood that it churned even Neji's stomach. TenTen whimpered in fright and tried to calm him down. "O-Okay!" she cried, then she closed her eyes.

"…Okay…"

Kimimaro, heaving breaths, smiled in his pain. Neji watched the scene without a word or a move.

TenTen was really crying now, or else the rain water was just dripping down her cheeks. "B…But I can't…I can't just w-walk into the third station…" she stuttered, obviously trying to keep calm.

"There was once an underground subway the used to run beneath Konoha," Kimimaro choked breathlessly. Quickly, as if afraid he was running out of time. "It hasn't been used for years. But there's a path in it that leads to Orochimaru's third station. The entrance to it is in the boiler room of your High School."

"…R…Really?"

Neji nodded, speaking for the first time. "I've heard of it," he said. TenTen blinked, and stared up at him now, as if seeing him for the first time. "It'll definitely lead you to Orochimaru's third station."

"It will lead you to Orochimaru," Kimimaro continued. "And then you can say it…"

TenTen set down Kimimaro gently on the ground now, but her eyes never strayed from Neji. Neji stared back at her complacently, till she sobbed and let herself fall into him.

"I can't do it, Neji…" she cried into his shoulder as he held her. "I can't do it…"

"…Don't say that…" Neji said, frowning and pushing her away, holding her out so he could look at her. She stared back at him, teary eyed, and he felt himself becoming a little angry. "What the hell is the matter with you?" he demanded of her. She blinked in surprise, he continued, "You're crying, saying you can't do it? Do you know who you sound like?"

TenTen's lips parted.

"You sound like that stupid pink-haired little sister of yours. You sound like you're as helpless as my cousin, TenTen. You're giving up?" Neji was getting furious now. Not at her, though, his hands didn't tighten on her shoulders, he didn't want to hurt her. He didn't even blame her.

"You think you can't fight?!"

"W-Well…" she whispered. "…You…"

"I was wrong, TenTen!" he said, frustrated. And it was true. He was angry, furious, at himself. "I was wrong! I don't care if you're sick, or dizzy, or bleeding, you're fine." He grit his teeth. "You're _fine_. And you have no right to say if you can or can't fight, because I'm _telling_ you to!"

He suddenly moved his hand to gently caress her face, and she blinked as he pulled her a little closer, staring determinedly into her eyes. That pair of sparkling, wondering eyes, filled with tears and fear and beauty and care and all the things Neji loved in the world that were still left. "Just like I always have," he murmured. "Go to Orochimaru, and tell him what you need to. You'll know what that is. Run. And don't turn back once. Don't let anything stop you. Okay?"

TenTen smiled.

"Okay."

She suddenly leaned down, and kissed Kimimaro on the forehead, pushing his perspiration-soaked bangs out of the way. His eyes fluttered open, but Neji had shoved her by now so she stood up and stumbled forward.

"TenTen." She glanced over her shoulder at Neji. "Give him a punch for me, okay?" He was smiling at her, and she grinned back.

"Got it."

"Run, you idiot."

She did. She turned her back on him, and ran into the rain, feet splashing in the puddles and hair flying behind her.

Neji watched her go, 'till the darkness and the mist swallowed her up, and then finally turned back to Kimimaro as Itachi opened the car door with a slam, shouting, "Oi! You, girl, you can't just run off like that! Where the hell d'ya think you're going?!"

"I'll hold them off," Neji whispered down to Kimimaro. "Just like I promised."

Kimimaro said nothing. He was struggling somewhere between life and death. Neji closed his eyes, and placed a hand to Kimimaro's forehead.

"Rest in peace," he said piteously,

"Sensei."

And that was how Kimimaro died. He exhaled his last breath of life into Neji's arm, and his eyes glazed over in a milky white that Neji had to shut the eyelids over in order for the smile on Kimimaro's face to truly look peaceful.

"Huh. Took him a while, didn't it?"

Neji closed his eyes. '_Concentration,' _He thought. '_Don't think about anything but the quarry. Nothing but defense. And attack. And concentration._

"Usually they choke on their own blood in five seconds."

He felt himself rising slowly. Itachi was ignoring him.

'_Concentrate. Don't let him get to you._'

"Oi, you two. Go get that girl, would you?"

There were two bangs, and Itachi blinked in surprise.

"Sorry…"

Neji looked up, and Itachi's lips parted in shock; the boy's eyes were suddenly murderous, malicious, and terrifying.

"I can't let you stop her."

Itachi gazed on as his two men crumpled to the ground. Dead. Spitting.

'_Choking on their own blood_,' Neji thought with satisfaction.

Then, Itachi grinned and turned to Neji. "You killed all my men. Bitch." He sighed and ran a hand through his bangs, bored. "You know, I already sent out the call. I can't stop the girl? Says who?"

Neji was ready. He was unbeatable. Starting now, this was _his_ game, and Itachi was going to lose.

"My sensei."

**H**i**n**a**t**a

I'd felt this before. That there was something wrong.

Neji and TenTen weren't in the backyard. They weren't anywhere else in the house, either. And I could _feel_ it. Something was wrong, _badly_ wrong.

I was in the living room when Naruto entered. It was late at night. Around ten or eleven. He had gone to the gas station, and he smiled at me brilliantly as he came in, arms filled with a couple jars of spices. "Hey Hinata! I got some stuff for the pizza you said you were gonna make tomorrow!"

"Oh…Good…" I said distractedly. He tilted his head to the side, seeming to notice my preoccupation, and frowned. "Hey, help me put them away please?" I looked up and nodded, and stood from the sofa. As he handed me the jars he said, "So where's everyone else?"

"U-Um…Shikamaru and Temari are…" I blushed, and nodded to the hallway that led to their bedroom. Naruto laughed nervously. "…Yeah, I figured. So, uh…Weren't Ino, Lee and Kiba making brownies?"

"Oh, they left about three minutes before you returned."

"Why?"

"They almost burned the kitchen down, so I sent Kiba and Lee back home…" I admitted sheepishly. "Ino's in her room now, I think she's trying on clothes…"

Naruto chuckled as he kicked the kitchen door open. "Yeah, that sounds like them." I steered him to the cabinet next to the stove where we stored the spices, and we began to put the jars away after dumping them gently on the counter.

"So are you going to tell me what's wrong?"

I blushed again. "U-Um…I just…have a bad feeling."

Naruto turned to the cabinet, suddenly wearing a dark expression. "I know. I feel it too…" he said softly. "It's just like last time…" His voice faded as we both remembered what I'd done last time. It was strange. It had been like it had all been forgiven, like he hadn't been upset with me in the first place. But now, a tinge of guilt rolled through my body.

"Do…do you know where Neji and TenTen are?"

Naruto was closing the cabinet door when I said that, and his hand slipped. The cabinet banged shut. I winced at the sound as he turned to me. His eyes were wide.

"So it's true?" he asked intensely. I blinked. "They're gone? They're not in the backyard, that means they're…they're gone…?"

"Th…They could b-be in the basement, or…"

"I was in the basement before I left, they never came down. You were in the living room, you would have noticed them going down there, right?" I bit my lip and turned around.

"Naruto…" I whispered. "I can't do this anymore…"

He put a hand on my shoulder. "Hinata…"

"Something's wrong. I can tell. They're gone. And…and something's happening. I can _feel_ it, and so can you! It's just like last time…"

"And you remember what happened last time. When Sakura interfered," Naruto said sharply from behind me. "Hinata, we can't just run into things without knowing what they are!"

I grit my teeth as I stared at the floor. "What are you saying, Naruto?" I whispered. Why did he sound like Sakura to me right now?

"Hinata, I just…I don't think we should risk anyone else getting hurt…"

He used to sound like TenTen all the time, right? But now…

"There's nothing we can do…"

I raised my head.

"You're wrong, Naruto."

His hand didn't move from my shoulder. "…Hinata…Do you really want to do this…?"

"Yes," I turned around to face him, determination in my eyes. "I'm not going to stand here while TenTen gets hurt, while Sakura's helpless."

He nodded slowly. "…Fine," he said. I blinked in surprise, and he suddenly grinned at me, a grin that reminded me of TenTen again. "What do I have to do?"

I smiled.

I was going to help. I was not going to stay to the side and cower in fear.

Not this time.

**T**e**n**T**e**n

I lost track of time. How long it took me to run from Neji and Kimimaro-sensei and Itachi at the borders of Konoha to the High School in middle of the city, I had no idea. All I knew was that I didn't stop running once. I didn't look back. Just like Neji told me.

When I got to the school, I finally stopped, and realized just how much my lungs were burning. It was barely raining now, just sprinkling, and the school looked as shitty as ever. All lights were off, and the bricks were damp and crumbling. Litter was washing way into the sewer of Lexington Road in front of the building, and I paid it no notice as I stumbled towards the school, drawing in heavy breaths.

The streets were empty. Which was strange, usually they were most dangerous at night. I glanced around myself warily as I walked down the long stretch of campus of the school. It was dark, hard to see. My heart was beating dangerously fast. I was panting, from running so far. My head still felt heavy, and I still ached all over.

And that's when I heard it. The sound of a car. I heard it when it was still far away, the music playing in it was blasting loud and echoing through the silent city. I didn't think too much of it at first, and I kept walking, but then I heard the car's wheels screeching loudly, and I looked over my shoulder, and saw the car veering around a corner onto Lexington. I backed up a bit, and kept walking, but sped up my pace.

'_Please don't let it be what I think it is…_'

The car rolled onto the grass of the school. And I broke out into a run as it screeched to a stop, grass flying up behind it, the headlights nearly blinding me. I stumbled, slipping on the wet grass, and heard the slam of the doors behind me, loud raucous laughter.

I knew that Itachi would call for backup eventually. But I didn't think they'd react this quickly.

I kept my gaze glued to the school doors, getting closer. I had to get inside. Then, I could deal with the oafs behind me. I was smaller and skinnier than them, I was certain. I _could_ outrun them! I just had to keep going, no matter how much it hurt.

I finally found myself stumbling onto the cement, and then slamming into the doors. And for the first time, I found myself feeling fortunate that I went to a school that didn't care for security; the doors were wide open. I ran inside without bothering to close them behind me, and looked around wildly. I was in the main halls, and there was two ways to go at the end of the hall, doors scattering it on either side. It was too dark to tell for sure, but I had memorized my school.

I heard the men's feet slapping on the cement outside, and decided finally that it was best to hide. I darted quickly behind the door of one of the classrooms, closing it quickly behind me, right when I heard the front doors slam open and the thumping of the men shoving their way inside.

I glanced around the room I was inside of as I heard them discussing my whereabouts outside the door. It was pitch black, and there was no lock on the door. The desks were in disarray around the room, and the teacher's desk was at the front of the classroom. I ran up to it, and slipped behind it.

'_Maybe if I hide here and they don't find me, I can slip past them unnoticed and get to the boiler room._'

But then I heard them opening a classroom door, and bit my bottom lip. They were searching all the rooms. '_It's okay. Stay calm. Be quiet. They can't find me if I don't exist._' I calmed my breath, but from running for so long, it came out heavy and long and _loud_.

'_Shit!_'

I saw a flashlight's beam skitter across the floor through the window of the classroom door, and the door opened slowly. Two…three…no, _four_ strong, large men came in, I could see from their shadows as I bent my head to the left around the side of the desk.

My breaths were hollow and sharp. I put a sweaty hand to my face desperately. It didn't help. I had been running too fast and too long, and my lungs were burning for air. I was going to suffocate myself if I didn't breath…

I let myself suck in some air, but as I feared, it was too loud, and I heard all footsteps freeze. Then they quickened pace, and they were walking towards me, the flashlight's beams on the wall got larger…

So there was only one thing I could do…

I jumped to my feet from under the desk, and saw a man standing in front of the desk flinch in surprise, then grit his teeth and vault over the wooden desk automatically. I dodged quickly, and ran to the side, to face two other men that came right at me.

I dodged a punch, aimed a kick at one of their stomachs. I got one man, but it wasn't that effective, and he grabbed for my arm. I pulled out of the way, but towards the other man, and he grabbed me by the neck and threw me to the side.

I felt my body slam into the wall of the room and fall to the ground, and I groaned aloud. I suddenly wanted to throw up. I felt queasy and sick and dizzy. When I opened my eyes, the room was spinning. My head burned and ached and for some reason the back of my neck felt like it was on fire. I coughed, and tried to move, but it was as if I'd forgotten how to.

I saw vaguely the feet of the men walking towards me, but the ground was lifting around me, and I had to close my eyes. I couldn't even brace myself. I felt a foot connect with my stomach, and I coughed again. I felt blood rising from somewhere in my stomach to my throat, and I coughed and it came out of my mouth like bile. I moaned in pain.

Then came the kicks to the head. Oh god, how it hurt. I wanted it all to end. To just go away. I didn't want to be here anymore. I wanted to go to sleep, and never wake up. This was it. I was giving up. What Kimimaro had said was right, there were no gangs. There was no reason to fight.

There was nothing I could do.

"Oi."

That voice…It was familiar. It came from somewhere else, outside of my vision that was fogged with white. It was calm and almost playfully sarcastic.

There was a thump, the kicking around my head ceased. The man had been punched. But by who?

My eyes fluttered open, and I saw a face I hadn't expected to see in my wildest dreams.

"…Sai…?" I choked.

He frowned. "TenTen! You alright?" I saw a weapon on him, and I heard a voice behind him saying, "Sai, hurry up, there are more coming!"

"…Chouji…?" I whispered. I tried to sit up, Sai had to help me. I closed my eyes as white flashed before them quickly, and calmed my dizziness by taking slow, deep breaths. When I opened my eyes again, Sai was on one knee, helping me to sit up. Blood was soaking the side of my head, matting my hair with sticky red. I could see the rest of it staining the floor by the dim light that came from the streetlamps outside of the school, soaking in through the front doors and through the window into the classroom.

"Hinata called us," Sai explained simply. "Told us you and Neji were missing. She sent Lee and Kiba after Neji, the rest of them are on their way here now."

"…They…what…?" I shook my head, ignoring the pain it brought to me as Chouji suddenly slammed the door to the classroom door shut.

"Sai! They're tryin' to break in, here!" he growled impatiently.

Sai nodded to him in short distracted acknowledgment, and then turned back to me. "Did they really chase you all the way here?" I blinked. He shook his head. "Well, it's alright now. Don't worry, you look really sick, but we'll get you back home, yes?"

But I shook my head slowly. He stared at me, and I said softly, almost pleadingly, "Sai…I have to go…"

"Sai, get up and get ready, they're gonna break the door down!" Chouji yelled over bangs and crashes.

Sai didn't look away from me. "I have to go to Orochimaru…" I continued.

He stared at me for a while, then suddenly, he laughed. I didn't understand why the hell he was laughing, but he was. He smiled at me, and suddenly held out a hand.

"Well, I don't know what the hell you expect of me," he said, calming himself at last and grinning. "You see, my gang, we aren't the kind to give favors so freely." I blinked at his open palm, and he smiled knowingly.

"But we do help."

My eyes widened as Neji's voice ran through my head.

"_I don't apologize." Neji said simply, but he walked forward to me suddenly, stopped, and held out a hand downwards. There was a small smirk on his face. "However, I do help."_

_I stared at his hand, then smiled and reached out to it. But suddenly, my mind spun, and words flashed through my brain, words that were spoken a long time ago, but words, of among many, that I still remembered, a little __too__ well…_

_I retracted my arm and jumped to my feet in a flash, narrowing my eyes. "I don't need your help."_

I stared at Sai's hand now. I'd spent so long just holding on to Sakura and Hinata. And now that I'd let go, now that I felt free, I'd realized something.

_"Memories are worthless unless they can make you smile when you look back at them."_

What had Neji _really_ meant when he'd said that?

_"Sakura Hinata and I always hold each other's hands. But we fail to realize the other hands held out to us. The other paths we can take, __**together**__. That doesn't mean we'll be separated. That doesn't mean we'll never see each other again, or we'll feel alone."_

What had _I_ meant…?

"_In fact, we'll feel less alone than ever before…_"

Neji sent me down on this path, and I felt like I was going to die in three seconds. I wanted to give up. I wanted to stop, and turn back, and go to sleep.

But that wasn't…_me_, was it?

I didn't give up. Giving up was for the Sakura's in life, the people that wanted to grow up too fast. Giving up was about protecting people like Hinata, who needed it.

No. Not this time.

I grinned, and grabbed Sai's hand. He smiled and pulled me to my feet roughly.

"Chouji," he said, facing the boy. "Let them in."

Chouji blinked, then smirked. "Yes, sir."

"We're not going to let them stop TenTen from what she's doing, under any conditions. Understood?"

"Crystal clear," Chouji said, stepping back from the door, which slammed open immediately. He and Sai both whipped out their guns, and faced down with the men on the other side who piled in.

"Go, TenTen," Sai ordered directly, then he suddenly leapt at two of the men, and taking them both down at once, made just enough room for me to slip through, which I did. Thanking goodness yet again that I was this skinny, I slipped between two men, socking them both in the face with my elbows while I was as it, and started running down the hall to the kitchen, where I knew there was a door nearby that led down to the boiler room.

"Hey, TenTen!" I skidded slightly, and turned to see Chouji and Sai both grinning at me between their fights. Chouji smiled. "Do your best!"

I blinked, then grinned and saluted him jokingly. "Yes sir!" And I ran on.

**S**a**k**u**r**a

"Hm. This isn't that good. How old is it?"

I glanced over at Shiho and tried not to sigh. "Um…I don't know, actually. Hinata buys everything, she usually cooks…"

"Well, are you sure you don't remember when she bought it, or used it last?"

"I don't know. We've been sleeping over at the hideout for…the past couple of weeks, so…"

Shiho scoffed as she sipped the tea again, making a bitter face. "That's not right. I mean, staying with your gang _all_ the time? Isn't that just letting them steal your life away from you? You need to be able to live on your own, Sakura!"

I nodded slowly. "…Y-Yeah, I guess you're right…"

It was unbelievably exhausting, answering every one of her questions. She'd come over, trying to console me after what had happened with TenTen, and she still wasn't going. Now, she had to criticize me on my tea. God...TenTen _always _took the tea I made, without a fuss. Hell, she ate everything and anything, she was always hungry and always thankful…

God damn it. Was she just some sort of fucking superwoman?! She even beat _me_ in a fucking _fight_! A fight of _strength_, which _I_ specialized in!

Oh, Shiho had a _lot_ to say about _that_. Fighting was _so_ immature. Well…yes, it was, but…_I_…I wasn't…

"Oh!"

I turned at Shiho's outburst of surprise, and my mouth fell open.

Lee stood in the door of my house. I didn't even hear him come in. I supposed, with a slight touch of amusement for a moment, that what people said about him was true; he was almost like a silent killer. Wasn't he the new spy on Kankerou's team? Definitely skilled…

"L…Lee…" I stuttered in shock.

"Sakura," he replied simply. He was stoic, void of all emotion. "I came to tell you that I've been called with Kiba to help Neji. Sai and Chouji are going to TenTen, so there's no need to worry. She'll be fine."

"Wh…What?!" I asked, blinking. "Are…Are TenTen and Neji in some kind of trouble…?!"

"Well it's…It's no concern of ours if they are!" Shiho said, interrupting Lee before he could talk. She stood up and glared sternly at Lee. "I thought you got the message. Sakura doesn't need you-!"

"Shiho, you…you already said that, alright?" I interrupted her. She blinked and coughed, then adjusted her glasses, letting me talk. I turned to Lee. "What's going on with Neji and TenTen?"

He smiled grimly, however, and said, "I can not tell you that. It's under my orders. I shouldn't even be here at all, but I'm lucky Kiba is so lenient when it comes to…understanding…" For some reason, I got the hint that he was insinuating something, but he continued before I could question him. "Sakura, I came to tell you something."

"Wh…What…?"

"Sakura, I realize now why you believe you have grown up." I stared at him. Shiho was glancing between us, confused. "They say that when someone has grown up, they regret much, for to regret means to understand that you have made many mistakes. And to acknowledge your mistakes is truly an adult thing to do." He sighed. "I could see in your eyes back at school the regret of one million different mistakes, but you are not wise yet. You are not mature, for two reasons. One, you are not acknowledging the mistakes that matter the most; instead of Sasuke and Shiho, think of those who have been in your life longer and have affected you deeper."

"A…Are you calling me a _mistake_?!" Shiho demanded, appalled.

Lee ignored her. "Two," he went on. "You have not understood yet that all mistakes can be forgiven…"

Suddenly he looked me straight in the eyes and smiled.

"If you apologize…"

I felt my lips part. Lee turned around.

"That is all I wanted to say. I'm going now. Goodbye."

And with that, before either Shiho or I could say anything, he was gone. Swallowed up by the darkness outside of the door.

Shiho and I were silent as I stood there staring at the closed door after him. My heart felt like it was about to burst. My mind was reeling with…_understanding_…

Shiho finally cleared her throat, and walked over to me with a sigh of pity. "Ah…stupid boy..." she said gently. She handed me the tea. I took it with numb hands. She smiled, as if knowing what I was going through. "He just won't get over you, will he? You poor dear…"

"Shiho…" I said, and suddenly I was grinning. I was grinning like an idiot, I felt like laughing out loud.

"S…Sakura…?"

I turned to her. "Go to hell." I let loose the tea in my hands, the hot, steaming tea, and let it splash all over the girl's face. She let out a scream of pain and grabbed her face, dripping with the tea.

I felt like TenTen, suddenly, as I flung the teacup to the side and laughed out loud.

"I'll see you later, you sour bitch!"

And I loved it.

"What in the _world_?!" Shiho shrieked in horror, mopping her face with her hair. "Sakura, what's gotten into you?! What do you think you're doing?! Where are you going?!"

I paused briefly to glance at her over my shoulder, overjoyed. "I'm going to be immature." Because that was what TenTen would do. "Gotta problem?"

**T**e**n**T**e**n

I'd never actually been in the boiler room. But there was a staircase leading down to it, and the rest was just pitch black. I found myself groping along the walls, and trying to find something, anything, that slightly resembled a door. Yet again I'd lost track of time, but finally, I'd found it. A narrow slit in the wall, that sounded hollow when I knocked against it.

Now, I was pressing against it, pushing with all my might. It wouldn't budge, I'd been trying it for so long that I'd forgotten. My head hurt, it throbbed and with every time it did came a wash of weariness that almost wiped me out and made me collapse. It felt like I had a permanent head rush.

I kicked against the door in fury, and felt myself fall, losing balance. I groaned and stared up at it. Up at the blackness I couldn't see.

This was just great. I'd gotten this far, and now, I couldn't open the door. Was there a key or something? There was no lock, I couldn't break it down…

Then, the craziest idea came to me. I grasped the wall clumsily and hoisted myself to my feet, which shot a new wave of pain through my head that I tried my hardest to ignore. I felt around the door, and slid my fingers into the groove on the other side of the door. And then, I pulled.

The door opened.

I stood there for about five seconds.

"…Huh. So it…opens the other way…"

Silence.

"…I feel like such a fucking idiot…"

I sighed angrily, and took one step forward into whatever the door led to.

And that's when there was a beeping sound, and suddenly I was blinded by lights. I gasped and threw an arm across my eyes. After I got used to the colorful blobs of light in front of my face, I squinted out into the light.

There were two lines of lights on the ground, on each side of the wall of a tunnel and lining the stairs that led down to a narrow track. There were lights on the ceiling that ran horizontally in front of me.

I stared in awe. This was the abandoned subway. Dark, and filled with echoes, and eerily lit by lights that hadn't been used in years…

And that was my path.

I was about to take another step forward to the stairs, when I noticed something.

Something was blinking in the corner of one of the walls. I narrowed my eyes; I recognized that.

A…bomb…?

And then, I was seeing bombs everywhere. They were connected to the lights. The lights lining the tracks, the lights on the ceiling and the walls. They were booby trapped with machine guns, and motion censored. I'd used them all, I _was_ the weapon's mistress of Konoha after all. I knew them all.

And I knew there was no hope of passing them without bleeding.

**x**x**x**x**x**

Neji ran forward for the third time. His shoulder was bleeding from a knife wound. Both of them had given up on guns, because neither of them could hit the other. Neji lashed out with a fist, Itachi dodged with a wild laugh. That's all he'd been doing, laughing. He was insane, Neji knew.

He was tired. This was worse than training with TenTen, or fighting with Sasuke, or beating up a few of Sai's members. He kept slipping. He hated that. He was usually so perfect in the rain. But right now he was preoccupied. He felt like he was elsewhere. He was too tired, he wanted to go to sleep. He was up too late, he hadn't been sleeping right recently. And now he was using all his energy doing this…

Itachi struck him again, and gave a loud whooping yell as Neji was thrown to the ground, sliding in the mud, hair splaying across his face. "Look at you! You're so pathetic, haha! You're losing your cool, haha!"

"I think you'll find your precious statement is incorrect."

Neji blinked and looked up, hoisting himself onto his elbows, and saw Lee and Kiba standing there in the rain suddenly in front of him, each with large guns.

He coughed, and Kiba looked over his shoulder at him and grinned. "It's okay now, Neji, calm down. We're here to he-"

"_Kiba_!" Neji yelled, but it was too late. Itachi's gun blasted at Kiba, who had barely enough time to move. It hit him in the arm, and too soon Itachi was running over and had slammed a fist into…

Lee's arm. Lee grabbed Itachi by the neck, and twirled him around, trying to throw Itachi to the ground, but Itachi grabbed Lee's arm now, and flipped himself over Lee, kicking him in the middle of the back and throwing him to the ground. He took out his gun and aimed it at Lee's back, but Kiba, roaring with pain, threw himself on Itachi, and the two rolled on the ground, Itachi getting on top of Kiba, his gun rolling away.

Itachi started throwing punches at Kiba's face as Neji and Lee each tried to pull themselves up to their feet. Neji got to his knees, grabbed his empty rifle, and threw it hard at Itachi's head, hitting directly. Kiba was unconscious, however. Pale and bloody. But Lee seized the opportunity and launched himself onto Itachi.

As Lee and Itachi wrestled on the ground, Neji stumbled to his feet again and saw Itachi's gun, thrown away to the side. He started to run towards it, but Itachi noticed, and gathering his strength, he thrust himself forward, slamming his head into Lee's. Lee was knocked to the side, and Itachi flung himself to his feet, kicking Lee in the head, hard, so he was soon unconscious as well.

Itachi ran over to Neji and punched him from behind. Neji was thrown to the ground yet again, and Itachi walked over, grabbed Neji's collar, hoisted him to his feet, and punched him hard in the face. One, two, three times, each time laughing excitedly. Then he thrust his foot into Neji's stomach, and threw him away and onto the pavement.

Neji didn't move this time. He was too tired. Itachi started to walk over slowly. "You're all so pathetic! You're almost as pathetic as that girl," he said happily. "She's not going to get anywhere, you know…" Neji could suddenly hear click. Itachi had gotten his gun. But Neji couldn't do anything about it. He was bruised and beaten and worn out.

"You know…" Itachi said with a sigh as he loaded the rifle. "She's going to die." Neji closed his eyes. "You sent her to her death, you know." Itachi held out the gun, aimed right at Neji. Neji kept his eyes shut and didn't move.

The shot rang out through the empty street, mixed with the sound of the rain hissing on the pavement.

"She can't fight…" Itachi said softly as blood started leaking out of Neji's body, which was rolled onto his back with the impact and the momentum of the shot.

"There's nothing she can do…"

**H**i**n**a**t**a

I couldn't remember Ino ever driving faster than she did that night. We sped down the street in milliseconds and swerved over lawns and crashed through bushes and jumped over curves and dashed through three red lights in a row.

I was barely hanging on. Shikamaru and Temari seemed just fine, as if they were used to it, but Naruto himself was jiggling around and finding it hard to stay sitting. But Ino looked like she'd never had more fun.

"I've already called Sai and Chouji and Kiba and Lee," I reported to Shikamaru, who was opening his laptop and searching for cell phone responses. "They should have turned off their cell phones by now, they said they were going to fight."

Shikamaru nodded and heaved a sigh, snapping the laptop shut. "Yeah, I can't see anyone but TenTen, and unfortunately, she's in a tight spot."

"How do you know?" I asked. "Where is she?"

"She's in the fucking _subway_," Temari groaned. "That place is _lined_ with bombs."

"The what?" I asked, eyes widening.

"There was a subway that used to run underneath Konoha that shut down a while ago," Shikamaru explained as Ino suddenly changed lanes and started speeding towards the High School. "Apparently it-"

"Holy _shit_!" Ino shrieked suddenly, and I let out a scream of surprise as the car suddenly started spinning, swerving out of the way of something. Naruto was holding onto the sides of the car to keep steady, and I clutched the seat, closing my eyes tightly, feeling my hands shake.

Finally Ino slammed on the brakes, and after a while the spinning stopped, and suddenly the side door opened.

My head whipped open, and I saw someone I'd never expected to see in my wildest dreams.

"Sakura?!" all of us cried at once.

She stared at us with grit teeth, then glared. "What the _hell_ are you doing when TenTen's in trouble?"

I felt something building up in my chest.

"Driving?! Seriously?! What the fuck is _wrong _with you idiots?!"

Some sort of happiness.

"Come on, _do_ something that can _help_ her!"

I smiled.

"Already on it."

Not really knowing what I was doing, I reached over and snatched Shikamaru's cell phone from his hands. He blinked and stared at me. "Um…"

"I need to use this…" I said distractedly as my fingers flew along the keyboard, finding his address book. I found Karin's name, and pressed the call button.

She answered immediately on the first ring. "Shikamaru?!"

I put the phone on speaker. "No," I said. "It's Hinata Hyuuga. You're in Orochimaru's third station, am I right?"

"Correct."

"What the _hell_?!" Ino cried. Temari's mouth was wide open. Shikamaru was staring at me like I was an alien. But Sakura and Naruto were grinning. A grin like TenTen's.

"TenTen's in the subway right now. Is there a way you can help her?"

"…On it, sweetheart." There was suddenly a noise, like a heel scraping along a floor. "Oi, Uchiha. Where's the power switch at? Oh, thanks Gaara. Kankerou, pull it, Matsuri, you pull that other one there."

I felt a smile come to my lips. "…_Yes_…!" I whispered.

Shikamaru's eyes widened. "You're a genius…" he muttered, gazing at me.

I smiled at Sakura. She grinned that TenTen grin right back. It was about time I'd started to look at her as inspiration. Maybe she'd just been inspiration all along. Inspiration to fight, a reason to live and love and care…

And what was wrong with inspiration?

**T**e**n**T**e**n

The first step I took had been lucky. The second step, had been avoiding something. And this time, I knew I had someone else to thank.

"Hinata…you're amazing…" I whispered excitedly.

Every single light in the tunnel was out. I was avoiding all the bombs, all the booby traps, all the guns, the motion censors. Everything. Because the power in Orochimaru's third station was out.

I went on for what seemed like hours. Only the sound of my footsteps, running through the endless tunnels, echoing in my ears. I knew I had everyone behind me, backing me up, fighting to their hearts extremes. My heart was bursting with pride and pain, and I felt like I was going to die from lack of oxygen. I was running too much. My head was aching with every move I made. My stomach was being jostled around, I felt like I was going to get sick. But I kept going.

And that's when I saw it. The light at the end of the tunnel.

The first reaction I had was to laugh. How cliché. I was dying! It was funny, for some reason.

Then I realized that I wasn't dead. The light at the end of the tunnel, was just a light at the top of a staircase in the distance down the subway tracks.

I knew it as soon as I realized I was still alive; Orochimaru was up there.

I was on my way to Orochimaru.

I felt a grin come to my face, a grin that made me want to give up now just because I felt so proud of myself. I was almost there. But that was reason enough to just keep running. And so I did.

"Almost there…" I whispered to myself hoarsely as I ran, to try and keep myself going. "Almost there…"

**x**x**x**x**x**

Itachi sighed down at the boy on the ground. He was dead, he realized, seeing the sickening amount of blood soaking around his body. His damp hair was covering his face and soaking in the red liquid that spread out slowly along the pavement. His arms were twisted to hugging his stomach, his knees were pulled up to himself.

Yup. Definitely dead. Itachi turned around. "Sleep tight, little bitch," he said airily, and strode away.

But Itachi was wrong. Because Neji wasn't dead. Neji was thinking. Neji was remembering. Neji was fisting a hand on the ground, feeling himself grow more and more angry.

"You're wrong."

"_Come on, Temari!_ _Men are all selfish pigs! Who needs them?!"_

Itachi stopped and glanced back at Neji. "…What?"

"_You're a girl, not a play toy!"_

"_Show him what women are really made of!"_

"You're wrong about her…" Neji said, and suddenly, he was getting to his feet again, adrenaline pounding through him in a steady rhythm. "You're wrong about TenTen."

"_Right! We're __all__ better than men! So let's say we show them!"_

"_Tonight we're gonna forget all about guys!"_

Itachi sighed and turned around again almost exasperatedly. "You're still alive?"

"You're brainless," Neji growled, holding a hand to his shoulder, ",if you think this will kill me."

Itachi's eyes widened, then glared again. "What are you trying to prove?"

"_You wouldn't understand. You're not girls."_

_"You don't know what it's like to be taken advantage of!"_

"_It's like you can't trust guys anymore."_

"TenTen…women…" Neji was stumbling a bit, and he righted himself. The world was coming back. The pain…he was getting used to it. It didn't really matter anymore. "Girls…" He saw TenTen's determined eyes. "Every single woman will stand up for herself when it comes to this."

"Stand up for what?!" Itachi demanded, backing away once before standing at the ready. "What are you trying to prove, you bitch?!"

"_Because_ _we're_ _girls_."

He smiled.

"I don't have to protect TenTen anymore."

"_We know what it's like to think that we __could__ be taken advantage of, and in so many ways. Men could take us away just like that."_

"I don't have to worry anymore."

"_And there would be no penalty because that's what men do when they can't control themselves, isn't it?"_

"I can stand back."

"_They think they can use us like toys and personal property. But they never seem to think that maybe we have feelings."_

"I can let her do her thing. She's everything I've wanted in a woman…"

"…_Isn't that right?"_

"She can fight."

"_You're men…You know…"_

"She can win."

Itachi stared at him, then he sighed, laughing a bit. "Oh, that one girl? You think she'll win?"

"I know," Neji defended himself calmly, dragging his hand down to his knife, feeling the blood pulse through his shoulder but not caring. Only having one initiative. "I'm sure."

Itachi tilted his head to the side, pulling out his gun again. "And why is that?"

Neji grinned.

"Because she has something to fight for."

**T**e**n**T**e**n

With each step on the staircase, I felt like I was getting closer to death. But it felt so good, I didn't care. Like when pain felt like pleasure. It was rare, but sickly fascinating.

"Orochimaru…!" I felt the name rip from my lips as I walked into the light. I had to close my eyes again. It was too bright, like an ocean of white. I felt myself getting dizzy again but ignored it. I opened my eyes slowly, and found myself in the doorway of a small room. It was the size of a small shower, lit by a cheap lamp swinging from the ceiling. I saw a door across from me, and narrowed my eyes. I walked forward and pushed it open.

I was striding, now, into a living room. I frowned in confusion. A living room? This random living room?

No…not random…

It was a small room, surrounded by a gross yellow wallpaper, curling at the edges of the short, curved ceiling. There was a bed with a moldy quilt lying on it. A desk with multiple pieces of paperwork scattered around it.

And man, jumping up from his chair at the desk with shock. I felt my lips part.

So this was him. This man stumbling backwards stuttering, "Wh-What the hell?!" His long, black, greasy hair, his pale skin and narrow eyes. "Who…Who are you?!" he demanded immediately, pointing at me with a shaking finger while backing up to the wall, reaching out to a button that was stuck there near the door.

"My name's TenTen…" I said slowly, walking forward towards him. "You're Orochimaru, right?"

"…Yes…What are you doing here…?" he demanded.

I laughed aloud. "So you're a coward, huh?" I asked. "Huh. Well, Orochimaru, you're not what I expected. But I'll say it anyways."

"Say what?! What are you doing here, _answer me_!" he ordered in a harsh bark, obviously trying to seem collected but failing.

"I have to…to ask you something…" I said, but I was telling myself that. I was suddenly realizing what I wanted to ask him now as I advanced.

"You know, you raped my sister…" I said almost conversationally. "Well…not _you_, I bet you'd be too afraid to, now that I see you. But one of your men did, and you probably encouraged it, right?" I sighed casually. "Who am I kidding? Of course you did! But listen to me, I'm babbling."

I looked straight at him now, and this time I narrowed my eyes, and my tone was angry now. This was it.

"How many?" I asked softly and dangerously.

He stared at me, eyes wide and bottom lip trembling.

"How many beautiful girls have you made hate themselves?" I continued, still walking towards him. "How many peoples lives have you ruined?" I fisted my hands, grit my teeth, still walking towards him as he flattened himself against the wall and pressed the button. "_How many people have you killed?! One million?!_" I yelled furiously.

I felt tears fall from my eyes as I sobbed, "How many people have you hurt, raped, murdered?! Huh?! How many people have ended up like _me_?!"

I shook my head, which was aching. My vision as turning white. I felt numb all over, except the back of my neck still felt like it was on fire. "How many people, " I whispered, "have felt what I have and seen what I have? That's not _right_!"

I let the tears drip to the ground as Orochimaru stared at me in horror.

"And this is for Neji, by the way…"

I ran forward. Everything was suddenly coming to me in an incessant flow of distortion. With some sort of savage energy I pulled my fist back capriciously. I felt like some sort of memory was flashing through my mind, but it eluded me. I knew I was suddenly in some sort of state of delirium, but there was this burning, twitching impatience running through me that I was unable to resist.

But at the same time, there was this feeling running through me that I didn't want to give away the wretched ending. What if it all stopped here? I felt myself being swallowed up by blackness. I couldn't feel any longer. I felt like I'd forgotten, as though on purpose, something I'd remembered a minute ago. It was that sick feeling of something left undone.

I could hear something. An explosion of some sort, then a rushing sound, like flames or water.

For a moment, I felt sick and incoherent.

But then, a pleasant drowsiness overtook me, and I couldn't remember anything else after that.

**X**X**X**X**X**

Written while listening to: _M i f u n e _from the SOUL EATER _Overall Soundtrack_.  
Epic song from an epic anime, yes? No, I'm not going to comment on the chapter.  
It is far too long, and I am far too lazy, for that to happen. I didn't edit it either.  
Same reason. But I love you all, and I do hope you all enjoyed nonetheless. (:


	37. It Ended With a Push

The first person who asks for a sequel will get an angry response from me. And the first person to review saying, "I want a sequel! JK, hahaha, I'm so funny!" will also get an angry response. Because it's seriously not funny. Like when I say, "Don't review about cookies", and someone goes "Cookies! JK, hahaha, I'm so funny!", I just want to shoot them. Because it's not funny, it's just frustrating. I'm serious. Just don't mention anything I just said…  
Holy shit, I've got problems. Well, I _might_ make a flash-back kind of **epilogue** about the three girls' pasts if I feel like it. Cheer me on And please enjoy the LAST CHAPTER!  
(**LISTEN TO ****Far From Home**** BY ****Vic Mignogna** **WHILE READING! **Trust me, it'll make you smile. :D)

**X**X**X**X**X**

**T**he door opened.

Neji, hidden in the shadows of the room, turned around in his black swivel chair. "…Sasuke."

"…Neji…" It was silent as he stood still for a while. "So you're the new leader, eh?"

"I assume you just got off the phone with Sai?"

"Yes."

"Ah…"

"Neji, Sasuke." Naruto was suddenly in the room, slipping through the open doorway. "Hey, I…um, I just wanted to say hi. We haven't…talked like this in a while."

Neji chuckled as Sasuke put a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "True."

"It's alright, idiot, we're not mad at you or anything. We're just busy," Sasuke said.

Naruto sighed. "Yeah, I know. It's just been…We've had a lot on our hands."

"It's that TenTen…" Sasuke said, running a hand through his hair. "It's those three…"

"It's our own fault," Neji said. "We were the ones so intent on getting them…"

Naruto sighed. "It makes me wish they'd never come here. But then…I don't want them ever to leave."

The other two were silent. But it was obvious they both agreed.

After a while, Neji stood up with the air of finality. "Well…I'm just…I'm glad you're both alright…" he said slowly, as if afraid of admitting it.

From the darkness, Sasuke and Naruto both smiled.

Neji walked past them, and gave them both a thump on the shoulder as he passed.

"I…care about you guys a lot. So don't take my new position as giving up on you."

"You don't have to worry about that, Neji," Sasuke said as Naruto laughed lightheartedly.

Neji smiled, the light splashed across his face, then he left the room, and the door closed.

**H**e**a**r **N**o **E**v**i**l  
_See no evil. Speak no evil._

**D**i**s**c**l**a**i**m**e**r: Oh emm eff gee, I don't own Naruto. :)  
**S**o**n**g**s**: _Let It Rock _by _Kevin Rudolf_

C**h**.** F**o**r**t**y **– It Ended With A Push

_I wish I could be_  
_As cruel as you_  
_And I wish I could say _  
_The things you do_  
_But I can't and I won't live a lie_  
_No not this time_

**T**e**n**T**e**n

I had a dream about standing on the beach. I was in the water, and the sun was setting. I was walking along the water, but for some reason I was getting farther and farther away from the shore. I could always remember going to the beach and seeing the waves crashing into my legs, and the shore getting further from me. But usually when I was there, Sakura and Hinata were with me.

This time, they were standing on the sand, on the shore, and I was walking away. And Neji was holding my hand, and we just kept walking in the water. And for some reason, I'd never been happier.

But then everything got brighter, and something white flashed before my eyes, and then I saw gold, and then I saw…

Lavender…

A pair of beautiful lavender eyes that blinked down at me. I stared up at them, then closed my eyes and opened them again, and I saw Hinata.

I was in Temari and Ino's bedroom, and she was sitting over me, like an angel. I slowly sat up, and I could see her smile as I looked around.

The sun was shining through the open windows, and a slight breeze made the white curtain sway. The room was lit by a white sunlight, and Hinata was saying happily, "TenTen! You're awake!"

I blinked, bewildered, as she flung herself on to me, hugging me tightly. I hugged her back and smiled slightly. "H…Hinata…?" I asked. My voice was hoarse. But I felt good. Like I'd been sleeping for years. "What happened…?"

She pulled back from me to look at me. "TenTen, you got all the way to Orochimaru!" she said with a brilliant laugh. There were happy tears in her eyes. "You've got to be the most amazing-!"

"But…But I didn't…" I shook my head in shame, looking down. "I don't remember anything…" I whispered. "All I remember is a tunnel, and light, and then…I just…"

"TenTen, you punched him," Hinata said, laughing again. "You punched him so hard you knocked him out, and then you passed out too. But the rest of us got to the third station in time, and the others were inside the third station too. Temari and Shikamaru killed most of the guards, so they didn't get to you or Orochimaru."

I nodded slowly. "Orochimaru called for security, I remember," I said. "But they never came." I shook my head. "But how did I get out…?"

Hinata smiled. "Sasuke was inside the third station with the others, as you know. But they came out without him, and told us that he made them leave, while he went to find you. He managed to get to you right when you passed out and knocked Orochimaru down, and he finally set the building on fire."

"…What…?"

"It was the only way to get out without being caught by guards," Hinata said with a shrug. "He barely escaped with his life. But he did, and he had you in his arms, and Neji was so happy…!"

"N…Neji…?" I blinked.

"Yes. And then Sakura got to you, because she came too, TenTen, and she was _so_ worried, and she healed both you and Sasuke. But you were put into a coma, you were asleep for _four _days…! Oh, I bet you're hungry, maybe you'd like me to…"

Hinata was saying something, but I wasn't listening. "Neji…" I whispered. When was it that I had last seen him…?

"TenTen?" Suddenly, without thinking, I jumped to my feet. Hinata gasped and stood as well. "TenTen! Stop it, you'll hurt yourself! Sakura said some serious damage was done to your head, you need to be careful!"

"Hinata, where's Neji?!" I demanded, ignoring her protests.

She blinked. "I…I don't know, but you can't…TenTen, where are you going?!"

I was out the door in a flash. I felt renewed and amazing, nothing hurt anymore. I glanced down at myself, seeing I was in new clothes, some of Temari's. A tight-fitting, long-sleeved yellow shirt and jeans. My hair was still down. But I felt wonderful and awake. And I _needed_ to see Neji.

I swung into the living room, and saw Temari, Shikamaru and Ino. Ino immediately shrieked happily, "TEN! THE PUPPY'S AWAKE! YAY!" at the top of her lungs. I didn't ask about that, even though I was thoroughly confused, and faced Temari and Shikamaru, who both smiled.

"TenTen!" Temari greeted me happily. "I can't believe it! How are you-?"

"Where's Neji?"

Temari blinked, then Shikamaru burst out laughing. Ino giggled. "Aw. The puppy's still the same."

"TenTen…" Temari said, then shook her head. "Neji went to the corner store to get some stuff, Hinata's gonna make a big dinner tonight. He should be coming home no-"

"Thanks!" I ran out of the house in a flash, but not before seeing the smile Temari and Shikamaru shared with each other.

I found myself in the middle of the street before I realized I was there. It was warm, and dusty. Spring was slowly getting more pleasant, and heat waves were rising from the ground. Amidst them, walking through the dirt, was Neji.

I stopped running immediately. He wasn't looking at me, his head was tilted to the sky where a flock of birds was flapping overhead. His hair was in a high ponytail, and whipping behind his head with a strong breeze. He wore that long trench coat type of jacket that he had on a lot, and he just looked magnificent.

I frowned, though, feeling a little angry, and ran forwards again.

He heard me coming, glanced down at me, and his lips parted. I skidded to a stop in front of him, and crossed my arms huffily, glaring up at him. He dropped the plastic bags in his hands as a response.

"You…You're awake…" he said in surprise. "Wh-When did you…?"

I just glared at him, then I felt a smile come to my frowning lips that I couldn't repress, and soon enough I flung my arms around his neck and was hugging him for all I was worth, letting the tears flow from my eyes and the happy laugh come from my mouth.

He hugged me back, holding me and laughing nervously himself. "I'm so happy to see you!" I cried, pulling back and smiling at him.

He smiled back. "TenTen…I'm glad you're feeling better…" he said softly.

"I'm glad you're okay!" I said. "I was looking for you, and, and I was scared…I thought something might have happened…" I felt myself relaxing. I was in a state of bliss. He was fine. "But you're okay…" I said, and I caressed his cheek in my hand. "Not even a scratch…" I laughed, closing my eyes and smiling. "You're amazing, Neji!"

"TenTen…" I heard my name spoken in that voice that sent shivers down my arms. I felt him tilting my chin so I'd look at him. We just stared into each other's eyes for a while, until our lips connected, and we didn't need eyes for this…

When we parted, I stared at him for a while, then he smiled and held me closely, resting my face in his chest, and I laughed and hugged him around the waist happily. "Neji…"

Suddenly he grabbed my hand, and, leaving the plastic bags in the middle of the road, yanked me along. I blinked in surprise. "…Neji…?"

He turned around, and my heart nearly stopped at the smile he gave me. "I need to show you something. Come on…"

I giggled and let him pull me along. "Okay…" I'd never seen him so enthusiastic. Of course, I'd never kissed him before either…

**S**a**k**u**r**a

"Oh, hi Sakura," Ino said as I stepped into the living room, toweling my hair off."Just finished your shower?"

I smiled at her. "Mhm!" I nodded to Temari and Shikamaru. Shikamaru was emailing someone on his laptop, Temari looking over his shoulder and massaging his back. She grinned at me.

"There's some good news."

"What's that?" I asked, sitting next to Ino, who immediately grabbed my hair and started braiding it, hissing something about jealousy of my 'perfect silkiness' under her breath.

"TenTen's awake." I froze. "She just came back inside with Neji, they're in the bedroom right now…" Temari grinned suggestively, then laughed. "Nah, they're not _doing_ anything. I think it's because Sasuke stole the backyard from them."

I stood up slowly, and Ino made a little indignant noise as my hair slipped from her fingers. "I'm…gonna go to the backyard."

"…I just told you they're in the _bedroom_, Sakura…" Temari said.

Ino shushed her, though. "Hey, let Sakura have her moment!" I heard her hiss, but I ignored all of them and walked through the hall and out the door into the backyard.

I stepped onto the stones, and looked to the side. Sasuke was standing by the fence. He was kicking a board into place. I remembered that spot. That was the spot where Sasuke had called me pretty.

_"It's stupid. No matter what anyone says, and I know a lot of them have said a lot of bad stuff about you, none of it's true. You're a great person."_

I smiled and walked over to him. He was still distracted, pounding on the stupid piece of wood and swearing aloud under his breath impatiently. It still wouldn't go into the fence all the way.

I tapped him on the shoulder, and he swiveled around immediately, seeming prepared to fight. I blinked up at him, and he stared down at me, then relaxed and scratched his head awkwardly. "U-Um…Hi! Sakura, hey…"

"Hi…"

"Hi!"

He cleared his throat, and I bit my lip, trying to find the words. "Sasuke…" Suddenly, I was hugging him. He hugged me back hesitantly, and I pulled back to smile at him. "I love you," I said seriously. "As a friend," I added quickly when he looked a little intimidated. "And I'll never forget you. But…I've given up on you, just to let you know."

He stared at me for a while, then he smiled. "I love you too, Sakura," he said fondly. Then he coughed and said automatically, "As a friend!"

I laughed, and kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks for everything, Sasuke," I said happily, as we let go of each other. I smiled slyly. "I hope you'll take good care of Karin." He immediately turned bright red, and I giggled. "She's a good person! I'm sure you'll be happy with her."

I turned around, feeling renewed and determined. "Because I'm happy too…" I said softly.

I heard Sasuke go back to his fence, then proclaim, "Yes!" He had finally gotten the stupid piece of wood to fit into the damn fence.

I smiled. Now, there was only one thing left to do. And I would truly be the most beautiful person. And I would deserve the love given to me from someone like Lee, or Sasuke, or Karin, or Hinata. But most of all, I would deserve the love given to me from her…

**T**e**n**T**e**n

"What is it, Neji?" I asked, laughing, as he pulled me into the boys' bedroom and closed the door. He let me go and walked over to his desk. As he rummaged around for something, I walked over to one of the beds and sat down, looking around the room. It was neat and tidy, because of Hinata. They'd learned how to make their own beds, because of the pressure from Sakura. And the window was open. I wonder if they did that because of me. Because I liked the windows open. They knew that…

Neji suddenly sat next to me, and handed something to me. I blinked and looked down, taking it in one of my hands. It was a small, rectangular piece of paper, and on it was a picture of a man. He looked exactly like an older version of Neji, the same clear and colorless face, a spic and span, irreproachable air that was at the same time studiously free and easy.

I stared at it. "It's…your dad…" I whispered, without even knowing it.

Neji nodded, I could see his smile from the corner of my eye as he took one of my hands in his own. "I thought…that the person I love the most would like to see the person I used to love the most…" he said softly. "Because…I'll never let the person I love the most die again…"

I looked up and him and kissed him. His hands came down to hold me as I did this, and I let one of my hands stray to his chest. When we parted I hugged him tightly, taking care not to wrinkle the photo. "I love you!"

"I love you too," he murmured, kissing my hair. I sighed contentedly, and rested my head on his shoulder. It was this happiness that I'd been missing, for so long. Something I'd hidden away since my parents' death. But, as Kimimaro had once said to me, "the further you hide something, the quicker you will find it." That was true. I'd hidden myself from Neji. And he'd come to me anyways. And I'd never been more satisfied.

Suddenly the door to the bedroom opened. Neji and I both parted slightly and looked over at Sakura, standing in the doorway.

Hinata was standing behind me, and smiling at Sakura fondly. "Sakura…go on…" she said softly.

I stared at her. She had tears in her eyes, and suddenly she bowed, one of those tears splashing on the ground, and said in a quivering voice, "Thank you very much!"

As she rose again almost hopefully, I stared at her, and felt a smile come to my face. "Sakura…" I said happily.

She smiled back at me sweetly. Hinata looked like she was in bliss.

"You're such a fat ass." I finished.

…

Everyone was silent. No one dared to move or even breath. It was like the world had frozen into place.

Then, Sakura gave a roar of fury, wiping away her tears with one sweep of her sleeve.

"ALRIGHT, THAT'S IT!" she yelled. "_Screw_ the apology, I'm gonna _incinerate _you, _Panda Bear_!"

"That's only if you can catch me, _forehead_!" I sang as she launched herself at me, dancing out of the way with a laugh.

"S…Sakura, TenTen! No, s-stop it, you shouldn't…Hey, don't you break that lamp…No! Sakura, not the curtains! TenTen, stop jumping on the…Sakura! Don't!"

"Haha! Look, Temari, Shikamaru! TenTen and Sakura are fighting again!"

"…Again…?"

"Oh my muffins…"

**H**i**n**a**t**a

"That's right, just sprinkle it over the eggs slowly, it'll taste better if you do an equal amount for each one."

"Got it!" Naruto grinned happily. He was definitely excited when I asked him to help me cook. He had actually changed a lot since I'd met him. Now, he could cook, clean, and he was just overall…more responsible.

But not completely…

He smiled at me as he sprinkled the paprika over the pot. "So, are you feeling any better?"

I blinked, and laughed a bit, blushing and turning back to the cake I was still sculpting. "…Well…not exactly…" I said with a small sigh.

"Didn't you 'bridge the gap' though?" Naruto asked curiously.

"…No…" I admitted. He glanced inquiringly at me, and I explained: "I don't think we'll ever 'bridge the gap'…I think there's always going to be a piece missing between us."

Naruto sighed sadly and turned back to the pan. "I get what you mean," he said. "Cause, like…It's not over yet, is it? I mean, sure, TenTen punched Orochimaru, and we blew, like, a gigantic hole in his wall. But is that enough to stop him? I don't think so…"

I nodded. He went on. "I think…there's always going to be something we're gonna have to worry about. Even when we're older, and we have, like, jobs and stuff, and we're not…_us_ anymore." He used a spatula to scoop the eggs around. "When we don't talk to each other anymore, and we don't care about fighting for anything anymore…We'll still have to worry about each other."

I smiled. "But what's wrong with that?" He glanced at me. I turned back to my cake. "I think it's a good thing. That something new always happens. I mean, if nothing happened…" I laughed. "It would be kind of boring, wouldn't it?"

"…Yu!" Naruto grinned. Suddenly, I coughed, and Naruto said, "Great! The eggs are nice and burnt!" I blinked and stared at him as he turned off the stove. The eggs, indeed, were burnt. He inhaled the barbecue smell and the smoke that surrounded us, and he coughed a bit as well, and sighed contentedly. "Ah…Nice…"

He turned to me, satisfied, and said, "But you're right, you know. If nothing ever happened, if I was boring all the time, we wouldn't like that, would we?"

I couldn't help but laugh and agree. "Yes…" I smiled at him dreamily. "And I only wish you happiness, Naruto…" I said softly.

He stared at me, then cupped my cheek in his large, warm hand. "Me too…" he said softly. "For you…I wish you everything…"

"Naruto…"

It was all true. If nothing ever happened anymore, I wouldn't like it. I didn't like boring. I like exciting. I needed Naruto to be irresponsible, to burn the eggs and the toast every morning.

Without him, there was nothing. And I had already made it clear, that I wasn't going to be living for 'nothing' anymore.

Not this time.

**T**e**n**T**e**n

"Hey, TenTen."

I glanced at Neji beside me. We were sitting up in the tree in the backyard. We'd been training, but somehow ended up here. I didn't really mind. "Hm?"

He was looking a little troubled, gazing off the branch to the ground. "You remember a while ago when Temari and Shikamaru broke up, and you told her that everything in life is only temporary?"

I watched him curiously. "Yeah…"

"…Do you think…_this _is…" He struggled to find the right words. "…an exception?" he decided finally.

I stared at him. "What do you mean…?"

"Us," he said, letting it out. "You and me. T…Together. I mean, I love you, I really do, but what if what you said is true?"

I gazed at him. I'd never seen him so flustered, so upset, about such a little thing. "Neji, I…I didn't mean…" I bit my lip, knowing there was no way I could take back what I said. Because it was the truth, nothing in life lasted forever…

'_So what if me and Neji…_'

"TenTen…" I turned to look at him again, and suddenly his eyes caught mine with an unbreakable gaze. He was losing the preoccupied look, to trade it for something so deep, so wonderful, that my heart sped up just thinking about it. "I don't want this to only be for a moment," he murmured, and I felt his hands take mine. "I love you, more than I can say, and some day, I want to make sure this lasts for the rest of our lives."

"What…are you saying…?" I whispered, hardly believing my ears.

"I want to marry you some day…or something like it, something we can manage," he said softly. "I want you to be by my side forever." He tightened his hands around mine. "If you'll remind me that the answer will be yes, when I get to asking it."

I couldn't register this for a while. Neji Hyuuga, a heartless killer, was asking me if I'd agree to a proposal in the future on a tree branch in the back yard of a gang's house in Konoha, the city with the worst reputation for violence known around the area.

And the city with the most love I'd ever experienced…

"H…Haven't I already said yes?!" I found my lips pressing into his, my hands working around his neck as he pulled me closer to him, drawing me into the kiss, which lasted longer than I expected, not that I minded. Until he pulled away from me and stared deep into my eyes, as if demanding to know if this was the truth or not. "What do you…mean by that?" he asked almost breathlessly.

"I'm your sidekick, Neji," I said with a stuttering laugh; I was crying. "And I promised I'd be by your side forever, didn't I? I love you. I'll never let anything happen to you, you'll never let anything happen to me. I'll do anything to make sure you're okay, and you'll do the same for me. We'll be there for each other, we'll care for each other, we'll die for each other." I laughed again. "This is as good as forever, Neji."

He shook his head and laughed a bit himself. "Why are you crying, then?" he asked, happily bewildered.

"Because you just proposed to me," I mumbled, hugging him and hiding my face under his chin. "Sorta."

He chuckled, and I felt his lips press against my head, which I lifted so I could look into his beautiful eyes again. I used to stare at Hinata's, but not like this. Her eyes didn't make me feel so alive and free.

"I love you," I whispered.

"I love you too," he murmured in response, using a hand to push my bangs from my eyes so he could see my face better, smiling fondly. He laughed again, and now there was a sad touch to his voice.

"What?" I asked.

"Well I was just thinking…" He sighed. "You're…the first person to ever say that they love me…"

I blinked. "…Really…? Didn't your dad…?"

"He probably loved me. And he probably said it. But I don't remember him well enough," Neji said.

I smiled, wiping my eyes. "Well, then I'll say it as many times as you want me to!"

"One million."

I blinked, smile frozen in place but fading slowly as a long-lost voice rang through my ears.

"_I'd have a million more…_"

'_Ayame…_' I could see the girl's sad smile as she sat, resting against the hill where she'd died. AS I'd shot her with my gun…

My heart heaving, trying my best not to cry, I placed my hands on either side of his face.

"I will."

He blinked. "TenTen, I was joking-"

I rested my head on his chest and began to chant. "I love you. Nine-hundred ninety-nine thousand nine-hundred ninety nine more to go. I love you. Nine-hundred ninety-nine thousand nine-hundred ninety eight. I love you. Nine-hundred ninety-nine thousand nine-hundred ninety seven. I-"

"TenTen," he said with a laugh, placing a hand gently over my mouth. "Save it for later." He took his hand away to pull me into his lap carefully, wrapping his arms around me and settling me into his chest. He leaned over to kiss me on the jaw, and then hid his face in my hair, holding me like I would fall to the ground and break if he didn't.

"We have all the time in the world…"

**x**x**x**x**x**

We all sat at the kitchen table later in the day. I could remember all nine of us sitting here before, in our same spots. Temari and Shikamaru were groping each other beneath the table, Ino making fun of them and giggling with Temari as they poked Shikamaru mercilessly. Sakura and Sasuke were arguing about something, probably Sasuke eating with his mouth open again. Hinata was serving a starving Naruto, giggling as he shoveled the food into his mouth.

I was just watching them as Neji discussed something with Shikamaru cheerfully. He was holding my hand under the table.

We were a group of pathetic, typical teenagers; confused, angry, and violent. We were a group of people that could have been something useful in society. We were a group of kids that had seen death and hatred in amounts we shouldn't have and thought we were a fucking gang_._

And we were a table full of friends, brought together by blackmail, that laughed at our stupid jokes, started small competitions with each other, argued and sparked fights that ended in more laughter, and remembered those that we loved that had died, and not at all in vain.

For if this was what they'd fought for, death was a small price to pay.

If this was something to die for, then living was an honor.

"TenTen? You've been unusually quiet," Neji murmured beneath his breath, leaning down towards me as the others continued. "Is something wrong?"

I smiled and tightened my grip on Neji's hand under the table.

Finally I could say this and say it with true intentions:

"No."

It was finally over. But, like Neji always said; _Whatever_. When something was over, it only meant one thing; something new was coming. And I guess I just needed a little push to end off, and start off, on the right foot.

I'd memorized the sound of my footsteps, walking down a new path. I could hear them now.

It ended with a push.

But this was just the beginning.

**X**X**X**X**X**

I can't bring myself to write 'the end' after that.  
By the way: First sentence of last chapter equals first sentence of first chapter. Last sentence of last chapter equals last sentence of first chapter. In case you didn't catch it.  
Re-Read & Edited while listening to: _Far From Home _by _Vic Mignogna_. Listen to it. Ignore the religious innuendo. It'll make you happy. :)  
Thanks for everything, everyone. I love you all.  
~Mara


	38. Epilogue: Seatbelts

**Hello everyone. As I've hinted, here's an epilogue! First of all, I'd like to show off a positively orgasmic anonymous review I received a while ago. I'm very proud of it:**

From: sasukarin hater  
how can u pair sasuke and karin up she is a whore masashi made that clear by  
saying she wanted to ravage sasuke in other words rape him and she is loyal  
orochimaru follower and is obsessed with sasuke

**I deleted it quickly, because it was too amazing to handle, and because it wasn't a waste of space. Doesn't it make you happy? It's so grammatically correct, and the logic is impeccably unchallenged. Sure the story is labeled as a NejiTen and not a SasuSaku, and I've made no permanent promises whatsoever regarding the pairings, but come on! SasuKarin, Mara? Really? You know what, it's okay to flame a story based off of the pairings. Who cares about the plot or the writing style? Nothing that can actually help the writer with their technique matters when pairings are involved! Thank you, "sasukarin hater", for your wonderful advice! It wasn't a waste of time, and I'm sure I'll improve beyond my wildest dreams thanks to your metaphysical wisdom! People, pay attention to "sasukarin hater", for she's made a fabulous point. Just because Karin wants to "ravage" Sasuke (rav-age: To bring heavy destruction on; devastate) means she is quite obviously a "whore" (whore: A person considered sexually promiscuous). Also, although she didn't react badly at all to the news of Orochimaru's death, and she followed after Sasuke and Suigetsu at their request even though Orochimaru had ordered her to stay in the prison, she still must be a loyal follower of Orochimaru! And because she is obsessed with Sasuke, she sucks. It doesn't matter if Sakura was as well, Karin's worse. Therefore, SasuKarin is impossible, and SasuSaku is altogether the best pairing evuh!**

**Getting over that, I give my thanks to everyone who stayed with me **_**despite **_**the pairings, to the people that helped me improve, to the people that supported me through everything: **Metal Blondie, Ukyou-Taisuke, Dreaming101, XxkikiroxX, Youkai Koneko, kimiko77, bright-rebellious, Epic Bunneh-sama, Nerd4eva, yeji301, Tobi-obsessed, Hikoru Aniki, LyricGirl16 and waterdragonrai**. You all stood out to me as mature and adorable and loveable and…you guys just plain make me smile. You didn't care about the pairings, you didn't even complain about them once! You always had some helpful advice, and a compliment to help keep me going. It made me feel like my writing actually means something to you! THANK YOU SO MUCH!**

**And HAPPY HOLIDAYS, to all! This is my seasonal present to you. I do hope you enjoy!**

xXxXx

H e A r N o E v I l  
_Epilogue: _Seatbelts

_"Tell me where the fire went and I'll tell you where it came from."_

Three Years Ago . . .

There was something wrong with her.

She could tell.

She was messed up, seriously fucking messed up.

She loved it, though.

It was the sight of people avoiding her as she walked down the hallway of Kiri High School that sent her into a feeling of mirth. These wealthy idiots, afraid of her. It was magnificent.

"TenTen."

She turned around as her name was spoken with a bark. It was lunch, and she was strolling through the halls against the wave of students, without a care. She raised an eyebrow nonchalantly, leaning her weight on her hip. "What?" she asked rudely of the teacher who stood in the doorway of a nearby classroom.

"Where are you going?" the teacher asked, but TenTen could tell that this wasn't the subject on his mind. "The cafeteria is the other way."

She shrugged. "I dunno. I don't really have anywhere to go."

"But it's lunch time."

"I don't eat here. The food's shit."

The teacher winced at the curse, but didn't bother telling her to watch her mouth. He beckoned her to come over, and she obeyed, but slowly, just to bug him. "What?" she asked again, forcing herself to sound impatient as if she had something important to do.

But she only did that to bug him more.

She had nothing to do.

No one to talk to, really.

"Step into my classroom, we need to have a talk about your grades."

TenTen frowned. "But it's lunch time…"

The teacher looked sternly down at her. "You said you had no where to go, right?"

She cursed herself inwardly, but had to obey, and walked into the classroom. The teacher closed the door behind himself, but she didn't notice, because she saw someone else sitting politely in one of the desks. A pink-haired little girl from a grade beneath her.

TenTen grimaced. Sakura was her name, if she could remember correctly. The one with the know-it-all attitude and the gigantic forehead. She was kind of ugly. All the other girls hated her, always made fun of her. With good reason, TenTen commented silently as she observed the girl in the desk, who stared nervously back at her. It didn't matter what she looked like, but if this chick couldn't even stand up for herself, she was useless.

"TenTen, this is-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know who it is," TenTen interrupted the teacher impatiently. "Spit it out, baldy."

The teacher cleared his throat with indignation, and, patting his thinning hair briefly, said, "This is your new study buddy."

TenTen blinked. Sakura smiled meekly up at her, but TenTen didn't notice. She was staring at the teacher, wondering if those words had actually come out of the stupid man's mouth.

"…What…?" she asked blandly.

"Your grades are significantly poor, TenTen," the teacher explained, adjusting his glasses cautiously. "And the principal and I have been observing your behavior, and have decided that it's about time you learn how to improve yourself."

"So…you're sticking me with forehead girl?"

Sakura winced, and the teacher sighed. "See, this is exactly the kind of ill-mannered nonsense we've been talking about. Sakura, here, has the highest grade point average in the entire school, and she is considerably polite. You could learn a few things from her."

TenTen shook her head. "No, no, wait a minute!" She pointed to Sakura, who flinched immediately. "This girl doesn't deserve this! You can't just force her to teach me shit!"

The teacher raised an eyebrow. "We didn't force her into anything. We suggested it, and she accepted, because it is earning her extra points in community service credits."

TenTen paused, then glared at Sakura, who seemed unsure of what to do. "…You have got to be kidding me."

"I'm afraid I'm not. You're to meet every day in the library after school for an hour, starting tomorrow afternoon." TenTen groaned aloud, the teacher went on. "Sakura will help you with your homework, and hopefully you'll learn how to get your life together by spending time with her."

"Come _on_!" TenTen cried, but the teacher, satisfied and finished, left the room. TenTen now turned to Sakura slowly and dangerously, who smiled shyly.

"U-Um…" She cleared her throat and stood up. "Well, I'm sorry…But I hope that I'll be able to help you-"

"-Oh shut up, ugly, this is your fault," TenTen growled. She sighed and turned her back on Sakura. "I'll see you in the library tomorrow, I guess. And if you're late and make me wait, I swear to god…" She glared over her shoulder, a glare that made Sakura shudder visibly. "I will _kick _your _ass_."

She exited the room, leaving a lonely and slightly paralyzed Sakura still in it.

_"I've been treated like an outcast my entire life…because of how I look. Pink hair, green eyes, and apparently I have a gigantic forehead to go with it…Who wouldn't think I'm a freak? People would always make fun of the fact that someone so odd had such a normal, common name like Sakura Haruno. Everyone laughed at me…except TenTen."_

"…I don't get it…" TenTen said for the thirteenth time the next afternoon.

She could tell Sakura was getting mentally exhausted. They'd been going at her Chemistry homework for about half an hour at least now, and so far, to TenTen, nothing made sense. She was only being honest! She just couldn't understand what the hell Sakura was talking about and what a 'Trigonal Planar', whatever the hell that was, had to do with 'PCL sub 3', whatever the hell _that_ was.

"Listen, TenTen, you're not even _looking _at your periodic table of elements," Sakura said with a sigh.

"Well how am I supposed to read it?! It's been scribbled over with red sharpie!"

"TenTen, you did that. Five minutes ago. While I was talking," Sakura muttered.

"Oh cry me a river…"

Sakura put her face into her hands. "Oh…what did I get myself into…?" she moaned into her palms. TenTen rolled her eyes. If there was one thing she'd learned in the half hour she'd spent trapped with this girl, it was that she was disgustingly overdramatic.

"What's wrong, Sakura?"

Sakura blinked and raised her head out of her hands. TenTen lifted an eyebrow and looked up as well.

A very pretty girl was standing behind Sakura with two other pretty girls behind them. She frowned when she noticed TenTen. "…Um, wow. I think I get it now."

"Get…what…?" Sakura asked slowly.

The girl sighed, running a hand through her long black hair. "You like to feel better about yourself, so you hang around delinquents like her."

TenTen only laughed. She was used to chicks like this, and it was always more fun to play along with them.

'_And get them back later with five dead spiders and a pillow case full of apples…_' TenTen thought with a smirk, her mind concocting a sudden deadly plan.

"That's…that's not it…" Sakura said, shaking her head. "I, um…I was assigned to help her study. I'll get extra credit from it, so we're both benefiting…"

The girl gave a harsh giggle. "Oh, I see …You're just full of yourself. As usual."

Sakura turned her head to face the table. TenTen raised an eyebrow carefully as she observed the scene. What the hell was the girl doing, just letting these people pick on her like that?

"I think you're just trying to make yourself seem even smarter. But just to let you know, you're only doing it because you're worried about that gigantic tumor above your eyebrow."

TenTen narrowed her eyes. "Okay, then."

With a screeching of her seat, which attracted the attention of the entire library, she was up. She grabbed the girl's wrist. Everyone stared at them, silent. Sakura was gazing at TenTen in overawe.

"Alright, listen here, you shithead example of a Victorian turtle," TenTen hissed at the black-haired girl. The other two girls backed away, and the black-haired one's eyes widened. "I want you to take back what you said, and I promise I won't feed you to the first large mammal I see cross my path."

The black-haired girl blinked and shook her head. "Y-You can't fight in school!" she cried.

TenTen grinned. "You also aren't allowed to bring weapons to school. And let me tell you; every pencil sharpener you see is a wonderful weapon." She tightened her hold on the girl's wrist.

"Would you like a demonstration?"

In one second the girl had torn herself away from TenTen and fled. TenTen watched her go, then sat down again with a small laugh. She nudged Sakura, who was staring at her, mouth agape. "Funny, right?" she asked happily. "'Aint she an idiot? I mean, _I've_ tried to stick my finger in a pencil sharpener before, and it doesn't even hurt that much. I mean, I can't get my finger far enough into the thing in the first place, and…whoa, hey, what are you doing…?"

Sakura was crying. TenTen grimaced. She hated it when people cried around her. She never really knew what to do.

"Um…hey, listen, uh…Your forehead really isn't that big," TenTen tried.

Sakura just kept crying, her face in her crossed arms on the table. "It's not just that…You're always so confident, TenTen, even though you're such a freak!" TenTen glowered. "But me, I'm always so uncertain, so pathetic. They had a good reason to compare me to you." She fisted a hand visibly on the table. "I…I'm like a weed…I'm so ugly…so unneeded…" She let out another sob, and a very loud hiccup.

TenTen blinked, then groaned and sat back in her chair. The library was still staring, passersby pointed at Sakura. This was unbelievably humiliating. "Listen, okay?!" TenTen demanded. Sakura said or did nothing else, but she spoke anyways. "I'm no good with criers; I don't really know what to do. But I do know that you're better than this!"

Sakura paused. TenTen didn't notice, actually. She kept going. "I mean, I'm stupid, I get it, but if I know one thing for sure it's that _you're _not. And you're strong, right? You're not some sort of tool. Because…because you know what it's like to be me, don't you?" Sakura lifted her head a bit, staring at TenTen with a wet face. TenTen frowned determinedly back at her. "You know what it's like to be outcast," she said seriously. "And I'm sure that you know how to be strong because of that. How to be _you_."

TenTen grinned.

"Because you're not changing, are you?"

_"You're just flying through life without a clue…"_

"T…TenTen!"

She turned around, sighing distractedly. "_What_?" she asked exasperatedly. She was on her way to her car in the parking lot. It was bitter cold, and she wasn't in the mood to wait in the snow. Two months later, and they had been studying for a while now. She'd grown a little closer to the girl, but she still didn't like her. Still thought she was annoying as hell.

Sakura finally caught up to her. She was pink all over, with her pink hair, her fluffy pink winter coat, and her raw pink cheeks, pinched from the icy wind. She was trying to keep her backpack and purse and schoolbooks in her arms, and smiled sheepishly. "U-Um…I forgot to tell you… you have an Algebra Concepts quiz tomorrow, so you need to study those pages in the book I assigned you yesterday!"

"Ugh. Joy." TenTen shifted her bag to her other shoulder moodily. "Can't you do it for me?"

"…What, study…?"

"No, take the test."

"…TenTen…"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I know you can't, I was just kidding." She glowered as Sakura scratched her cheek uncertainly. "What?! I can't make a joke now and then?!"

"…You can!"

TenTen sighed. "Okay, calm down. Jeez, you're such a weirdo."

"I…I am _not _a...!"

TenTen grinned a bit. Over the months, Sakura had grown on her, slightly. And she assumed she'd grown on Sakura a bit as well. They'd studied together every day after school in the library, at the order of TenTen's dumbass, balding math teacher, and so far, TenTen wasn't exactly _advanced_ in the subject, but she _had_ noticed a slight bit of improvement. For instance, she actually knew what they were doing…Now she had to figure out how to do it…

Yeah. _That_ was the hard part.

"Well, I'm gonna get to work," TenTen said with a sigh, running a hand under her bangs. "They might fire me if I'm late again."

Sakura was watching her closely. TenTen raised an eyebrow. "What? Aren't you gonna scurry off, as usual?"

"I…I have to ask you something…"

TenTen rolled her eyes impatiently. "Okay, shoot." Sakura said nothing, she just kept watching TenTen, who placed her hands on her hips, annoyed. "Hey, Pinky, I said go for it!"

Sakura blushed a bit, and bit her lip. "Um…Why do you…always insist on being so…?" Her voice faltered as she tried to find the right word. TenTen watched her as she wound her hands around themselves, then finally finished with a lame, "…well…you know…"

"Why am I like this?" TenTen translated for her. Sakura nodded nervously, and TenTen let her weight drop to one hip thoughtfully. Her breath steamed out in front of her as she pondered this. "Well…You're not really in any place to ask me that, _forehead_, but whatever. I guess…it's because…" She laughed. "Because that's the way I like it."

"…What…do you mean…?"

"I like life to be interesting, you know?" TenTen said, waving a hand in the air carelessly. "I like to spice things up a bit."

"But…You're ruining your future, TenTe-"

"I don't have a future, forehead," TenTen interrupted her tilting her head to the side. Sakura's green eyes were wide as she stared at her. "I don't have a chance. I've never had one, ever since my parents died." She turned around, to go to her car, and finished easily. "I don't deserve one, after all."

"Don't…deserve-?"

"See you later, Pinky."

"O…Okay…" TenTen started to walk away towards her car, but then she felt something strange.

It was a queasiness at first, like butterflies in her stomach. But then, it grew stronger, and her heart started to flutter. It was like something was _tugging_ at it…

It was…_painful_…

She wouldn't realize until later, that it was guilt.

It had been a long time since she'd felt it.

"W…Wait…"

This was strange. This was _very_ strange. TenTen stopped walking, both in surprise, and in…some sort of unconsciousness. Because…she hadn't expected those words to come out of _her_ mouth instead of Sakura's.

She turned around, not really knowing what she was doing, to face Sakura, who had turned to look at her inquiringly.

"Do you…want a ride home…?"

Sakura stared at her. She stared at her good and hard, for a long time. Then, she smiled.

"_For once, I didn't know what to say. And sometimes, I wish I __**had**__ said something. Because she still gets like that. But then she smiles again, and I forget all about it."_

"Heh, I guess you come through for me, don't you, forehead?" TenTen said cheerfully. "I actually got a problem right!"

"Well, I _am_ your tutor," Sakura said sternly. "You should…learn to understand these things…"

"Oh cut it out, you sound like you're supposed to be my grandma." They were in TenTen's big black Ford pickup after school. Ever since that day twelve weeks ago, TenTen had been giving Sakura a ride home through the snow. She insisted it was 'payback for shagging ass every day in the library', but she was sure Sakura knew better.

TenTen just couldn't stand the thought of the stupid pink twat walking home every day through the snow, all pink and…and…pink…It…It just annoyed the _hell _out of her! So, she settled - for her _own_ benefit she tried to remind herself - with giving the little idiot a ride. Hey, it also gave her an excuse to be late to her job every Wednesday and Thursday.

"Here you are," TenTen said as they pulled up to Sakura's house. It was a small flat, very nice and clean-looking. TenTen knew it was a lot better than her shabby apartment. She was trying not to get evicted from the place, but she was sure that the land-owner wouldn't give her mercy just because she was poor as hell.

Sakura opened the door and smiled. "Oh, good, I think Tsunade made brownies today!"

TenTen's ears perked at that. Tsunade…Sakura had mentioned the lady before. She was Sakura's mother, apparently. But TenTen was more interested in the brownies. She hadn't had brownies in a long time…

Sakura seemed to notice TenTen's subtle desire, for she stared thoughtfully at her for a while. TenTen glared back at her. "What are you waiting for, forehead? Get going!"

"TenTen, do you want to come inside?"

TenTen blinked, and for once, she didn't really know what to say.

She hadn't heard anyone ask that in a long time...

"U…Um…" TenTen cleared her throat, trying not to get caught looking stupid. "I, uh…" Sakura was standing there with this goofy, annoying-as-fuck smile on her face. TenTen felt herself heat up with a blush. "Wh…What, are you joking? Aren't you…a…afraid of getting mud on your…carpet or whatever…?" But she knew, that she had never heard anything more tempting in her entire life.

Sakura was grinning, now, this…this stupid grin. "Come on! I insist!"

TenTen gulped. Why was her heart racing? "N…I…"

"Come on!"

TenTen glowered. "F…_Fine_, whatever!" She opened the door to her car, turned it off, and got out grouchily, pretending that the whole thing was stupid and unnecessary. Sakura led her up the sidewalk, up the porch, and finally to the front door.

Trying to be as moody as possible, TenTen stuffed her hands in her coat pockets and watched Sakura discreetly from over her shoulder as she unlocked it, and stepped in, stomping her feet on a mat just inside the door. "Mom, I'm home!" she called, gesturing to TenTen to come in.

TenTen did so, walking in slowly. As Sakura closed the door behind her, and a woman's deep voice called from somewhere indoors, "Welcome back, sweetie!", TenTen looked around interestedly, stomping her feet slowly on the mat as she did so. She was enveloped by smoky warm heat, a sweet aroma of cherries and bread floating within it. They were in a carpeted living room, with a soft sofa, and two large, fluffy arm chairs facing a small silver television. The room also opened up to what seemed to be a kitchen, that curved around a corner.

TenTen could see a dainty wooden dining table in it, before a large woman came rounding the corner, blocking it from view, and paused at the sight of TenTen. Sakura smiled and pointed to TenTen cheerfully. "Mom, this is TenTen. She's the girl that I tutor after school."

TenTen said nothing, just stared back at the large woman. She was blonde and blue-eyed, and had some outrageously revealing clothes, quite obscene for her age, wrapped tightly around her body. "TenTen, hm?" The lady, Tsunade most likely, gave TenTen a terrifying smile. "Well! It's nice to finally meet you! I've heard a lot about you, TenTen!"

"…You…have…?" She glanced to Sakura, who bit her lip and blushed nervously. "I-I-I told her a b-bit about you, b-but…the g-g-good things!" she stuttered, suddenly frightened. But TenTen made no move to hit her; she was somewhat impressed, and somewhat horrified by the gigantic Tsunade.

Tsunade had this presence about her, and TenTen could not recognize. It was warm, and motherly, and even had a hint of the pink-haired Sakura about it. TenTen felt like she should, and could, be comfortable around this lady, but she was too afraid to.

"Well, it's my brownie day. If you'd like some, come on into the kitchen."

"It smells great, mom!"

TenTen, as she followed behind Sakura uncertainly, could not help but admit to herself that she could not agree more.

_"She was the 'famous' Hinata Hyuuga. Everyone wondered why a rich girl was in school, and they teased her because of that, and it was even worse that she was so shy. I hated that."_

"TenTen, you _need_ to remember your book!"

"Shut up, forehead, you don't have to act like such a know-it-all."

Many months later, winter was quickly fading, and spring was on its way. Sakura and TenTen were as thick as thieves. Tsunade had taken TenTen in, eventually, as one of her own, even though she couldn't adopt her. Sakura had become more than a tutor, to TenTen. More than an acquaintance. Even more than a friend! She was like a sister.

TenTen stood up for the stupid pink girl more than she had for anyone else. Over time, Sakura started to gain more confidence, and began to stick up for _herself_ more than she had been. Especially towards TenTen, who she no longer feared as much.

Now, TenTen was returning to the library with Sakura to retrieve her book, which she'd forgotten. They had been on their way back to Sakura's house - where TenTen had been staying recently ever since she'd been evicted from her apartment - when TenTen had realized it, and they'd had to turn back.

"I'm not trying to be a _know-it-all_, TenTen, I'm trying to help you!"

"Making me feel stupid isn't helping me."

They turned a corner, and were suddenly met with a surprising sight.

"What, you can't speak up for yourself?"

There were three students, two good-looking boys and one pretty girl, crowding around someone in the hallway.

Sakura paused. "Uh oh…"

"Come on, Sakura, who cares if someone's getting in trouble?" TenTen asked carelessly, tugging on the sleeve of Sakura's uniform. "It's none of our concern."

"No, I think I know what's going on here…" Sakura said, not moving. TenTen turned to watch as well.

"You gonna talk or what?" the girl asked tauntingly. "Come on. You're rich, aren't you? You're a cute little rich girl. Why can't you say anything for yourself?"

TenTen raised an eyebrow. "They're making fun of her because she's rich…?" she gathered.

"It seems so," Sakura said grimly. "I think they're talking to Hinata Hyuuga."

"Oh, I've heard of her!" TenTen said. "Everyone's talking about the girl. A freshman, right? She's supposed to have just transferred here, isn't she, like, super rich?"

"Yeah. And apparently she's really shy, too," Sakura said. "I've seen her in the hallway. She avoids everyone like the plague. She's terrified of talking in front of the class. It's kind of sad, really."

TenTen frowned. "Then why the hell are people picking on her?" she asked, observing the three popular kids chuckling over the girl in the corner, whom she couldn't yet see.

"Because she's supposed to be _so _rich, but she's _so _uncharacteristically _shy_," Sakura said smartly, letting a fist drop lightly into her open palm. "Isn't it stupid?"

"Yeah. That's not any reason to make fun of her," TenTen said, narrowing her eyes. "I mean, it's her _personality_. It's her _social status_. There's nothing _she_ can do to change that kind of thing."

"Well, people obviously don't seem to get that," Sakura muttered. The two watched the kids laughing cruelly for a while, then Sakura sighed. "Come on, TenTen, you're right. We should-"

"Hey, you guys!"

Sakura froze. "T…TenTen…" she started squeakily, but it was too late. The three turned around slowly, all sharing the same curiously amused expression. "What?" one of the boys asked rudely as TenTen advanced.

"Leave the girl alone, yeah?" TenTen demanded, placing her hands on her hips and frowning. "She hasn't done anything wrong, stop acting like you're so goddamn awesome."

"Don't talk to us like that," the girl snapped. "This chick here is such a freak! We're just trying to set her straight."

"Yeah, why don't you just go away and curl up in a corner of something?" the other boy said with a sneer. "Freak."

And that was it. TenTen was over there in three seconds, and she slapped the boy that had spoken last so hard he fell to the ground. The girl shrieked, "What is _wrong_ with you?!" and the other boy shouted, "Hey!" and moved to hit her back, mostly in self defense. But she kicked him easily in the groin, and he fell to the ground with a yelp.

"TenTen! No!" Sakura cried hysterically, running over, but TenTen just stood laughing happily as the three scurried away. "Haha! Did you see that?" she asked Sakura gleefully, who stood there wringing her hands nervously. "They're pathetic!"

"T-TenTen, you can't just start _fights_ like that in the middle of the _hallway_!" Sakura cried. "You…!" She paused, when her eyes caught on the girl in the corner. TenTen followed her gaze.

The girl was standing, sobbing into her hands. She picked her face out of her palms, feeling their stares, and gazed out at them. She had a pair of lovely lavender eyes, and long, dark hair that fell straight and pretty over her shoulders. She was shaking, TenTen could see, and her face was wet with tears.

"…Why…? Wh-why did y-you d-d-do that…?" she asked mournfully.

TenTen felt a grin come to her lips. That same old feeling was back, tugging at her heart and making her feel like she was floating. She crossed her arms cheerfully. "Because," she said, a sparkle in her eye, "we know how you feel."

Sakura nodded with an inviting smile, and extended her hand towards Hinata Hyuuga.

"Do you want a brownie? My mom makes really good ones."

"_Most people would grow older bitterly, I suppose. But TenTen was strong. And once she met Sakura and me, the first friends she'd ever had, she started to smile again, and soon enough…well, here she is now…"_

"Well. This sucks," TenTen muttered.

She'd been walking along Kiri's sidewalk, kicking a soccer ball through the slush of the snow that was too stubborn to melt with the gathering spring. It had rolled away into a sewer. TenTen grimaced, hearing the plop as it finally landed somewhere deep and disgusting. There was no going back after it.

She walked on, sparing only a longing glance over her shoulder before deciding what was lost was lost, and she could always get a new one. It had been exactly one month since they'd rescued Hinata from the wrath of the three idiot students, and by now, Hinata was like the angel TenTen had never had.

She'd come to TenTen and Sakura the next day with a tray full of cookies, saying it was her way of expressing the most gratitude she could possibly show, even bowing as she handed them to them (Sakura had blushed at that and insisted it was unnecessary, but TenTen had laughed gleefully as if she'd acquired a new slave). Soon enough, however, she'd become more than that.

TenTen knew that she had a _little_ bit of mercy left in her heart after everything. She knew that she was saving her tenderness and care for at least _something_ in life. And that something was most definitely Hinata.

While she loved Sakura in a way that Sakura was someone she could share her life with and take example from, she loved Hinata in a way that she would do _anything_ for her. Hinata Hyuuga was the sweetest, most generous creature TenTen had ever come across, and she could never do anything to hurt her, ever. In fact, anything that did hurt her, TenTen made sure to get rid of, whether it be an object, or a person.

In short, Sakura and Hinata were her life, now. She didn't know why. She didn't care. It was an exciting, new feeling, something she was by now accustomed to, something that, by now, she adored.

She couldn't imagine how she'd been living up to this point.

Now, she had been on a walk to the park, on her way to meet the two to go out for some lunch. It was a sunny weekend morning, and TenTen had expected it to be pleasant enough to leave a jacket behind. She was wrong. It was freezing cold. Her breath steamed in front of her, and she crossed her arms behind her.

Her jacket was torn anyways, it wouldn't have made a difference if she _had_ worn it. Sakura had been getting mad at her for going out in the cold so unprotected, recently, and TenTen knew why. She was _sick_!

TenTen coughed, and wiped her runny nose miserably. It was terrible. She had this terrible head-cold, and a migraine to go with it! She was even _dizzy_. She hadn't wanted to go out today, but Sakura and Hinata insisted she go for some reason.

"Hinata…what do you think about this skirt…? How do my thighs look…?"

TenTen blinked, and froze. That was Sakura's voice, wasn't it? Was Hinata with her? TenTen looked around the corner, and saw the two walking down the sidewalk on the way to the park. Hinata had, tucked under her arm, a sweater, colored a pleasant yellow, and very warm-looking. The two were both already wearing their winter coats, however. TenTen wondered why Hinata was carrying it, but didn't bother asking.

"Hey guys."

They both looked up, and smiled brightly at the sight of her. "TenTen!" Sakura said happily. "Right on time! We have a present for you." She nodded to Hinata, who giggled and fiddled with the sweater, but then paused and looked firmly at TenTen. "TenTen, are you alright?" she asked suddenly, concerned.

TenTen blinked, stopping in front of them. "Uh…yeah. Why?"

Sakura paused, and put her fingers to her lips. "Oh my god TenTen…you look terrible…"

"I feel fine," TenTen said, and she wasn't lying. Despite the terrible head-cold, and the strange dizziness, she didn't feel unable to walk.

"You don't look it…" Hinata said slowly, watching her warily. "TenTen…stop doing that…"

"Doing…what…?" TenTen asked. She blinked in confusion. They were getting closer and farther away to her. Why…?

…Oh…

She realized at that moment that she was swaying where she stood, she was so dizzy. "…Wh…Whoa…" she whispered, and then she fell to the ground in a crumpled heap, hearing someone, probably Sakura, crying, "Oh my god, you idiot, what are you doing?!"

Yup. Definitely Sakura.

"Oh..sh…shut u…up…" she mumbled clumsily between frozen lips, before she decided that this was a good moment to go to sleep.

"_Do you see? There she is, TenTen. Her parents died because of her, did you hear? Disgusting child, she didn't repent a thing. She doesn't deserve our company. Leave her alone…"_

TenTen could smell brownies.

It was the same old warm, cherry-and-bread, chocolate, smoky odor that pleasantly hugged her in her sleep. Everything was a light black that enveloped her senses gently, before she finally opened her eyes, and blinked.

It was dark out. She had a slight headache, and felt a little dizzy, as if she was still dreaming. But she sat up anyways, and rubbed her eyes, trying to clear her fogged mind. When she opened her eyes again, she saw she was in Sakura's room, on the bed that she usually slept on. The lights were off, but there was a small sliver of gold slipping from under the wooden door to flow along the carpet of the bedroom.

TenTen watched crack under the door curiously. There were shadows moving about, and she could hear the comforting clatter of a wooden spoon, a sink running, and voices talking in hushed undertones gentle to her ears.

It was like art. It was like music.

TenTen stood up, and walked carefully towards the door, and as she did so, she felt her hair tumbling over her shoulders; someone had let it down. She looked down at herself. She was out of her muggy brown tee-shirt, and dressed in a long-sleeved yellow sweater. It wasn't hers, but it was warm, and soft, and she hugged it to herself briefly, pausing outside the door. She could smell Hinata's sweet scent on it, like peppermint mochas and freshly grown strawberries. She could remember Hinata holding it now.

She wanted to laugh. She wanted to cry.

Why had they gotten this for her?

She cracked the door open into the kitchen. Tsunade turned around first, and smiled. "TenTen! You're up just in time, sicko." TenTen tilted her head to the side, and inhaled slightly. Tsunade noticed this and nodded. "Yup. We just finished the brownies."

Sakura whipped around from the sink and gasped. "TenTen! My god, we were so worried! I-I-I, I thought you were _dreadfully_ ill, I-I thought you were in need o-of a _hospital_! What were you doing, walking about like that without a coat on?!"

By now, Hinata had come over quickly and handed TenTen a glass of water. She took it, blinking at the yellow light fixture above. She drank, and, to calm her spinning head, fixed her eyes on the tiles of the kitchen floor beneath her. "It seems you pass out easily," Hinata was saying softly, a relieved smile to her voice. "You have a small cold, you'll need to take it easy."

"Nonsense." Tsunade's voice cut in. TenTen looked up at her. She was grinning, and shrugging on a coat. "She's a strong little thing, TenTen is. She'll be just fine." She patted Sakura on the shoulder. "Don't burn the house down, girls. I'm off to work."

As Sakura bid her mother farewell, Hinata giving her a small smile, TenTen walked over to the small kitchen table and sat down. She felt strange. She didn't really get it. Why was everyone so obsessed with her? What had she done for them?

"TenTen? Do you need to lie down again?" Sakura's voice said. TenTen looked up at her. She was different, she could tell, watching the pink girl striding over to feel her forehead for a fever. She wasn't afraid to touch her. She wasn't afraid to talk to her. She wasn't really afraid at all, anymore.

"Maybe you should eat this." Hinata came over now with an inviting gesture to the tray of brownies on the table in front of her.

TenTen looked at them. She smiled. "Yeah…"

"_I always used to wonder; how would __I__ be now if that happened to me…? Would I be able to smile like that and make other people smile while I'm at it…? And she's helped us both so much, through everything. I always wonder how she does it. It's almost impossible, right? It is. But TenTen just proves that we all have it in us, I guess…"_

"TenTen!"

She turned around and grinned at Sakura and Hinata, who were running up to her, flushed and panting. "Hi, what's up?"

"We…we need a ride home!" Sakura said immediately when they came to a breathless stop in front of her.

TenTen raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? Hinata, I thought your uncle was giving you and Sakura a ride home recently, so I could go to work on time."

"…H-He's not feeling well today…" Hinata stuttered between breaths.

TenTen rolled her eyes. "Alright, get in," she said. They both smiled gratefully at her, and did so, clambering into their seats as TenTen vaulted into the driver's seat. As she started the car and turned up the heat, she glanced at them. They were both adjusting their bags distractedly, and pulling their hair out of their eyes.

Sakura caught TenTen's gaze as she started the car, so she looked away and pulled out of the parking lot. But it was too late. "What?" Sakura asked.

"Nothing, nothing…" TenTen drummed her fingers on the steering wheel, turning into the street and pulling in front of a red light. "It's just…You two aren't wearing your seatbelts."

Sakura and Hinata both glanced at each other, and Hinata laughed sheepishly. "Oh. Yeah. I…I don't really like wearing seatbelts."

"Me neither," Sakura agreed. "It makes me feel constrained." Hinata nodded.

TenTen stuck her tongue in her cheek. "Huh…"

It was silent as the two watched her, and Hinata bit her lip. "Uh…Do you…want us to…?"

"No, no, I couldn't give a shit," TenTen said, laughing and shaking her head. "But you guys just seem like the kind of people who would be really paranoid about wearing seatbelts."

"Well…I don't mind cars," Hinata said with a shrug. "I don't know why. It's just…a bit of a tick, really."

"Yeah. I don't mind them either," Sakura said. "I just hate it when people drive really fast."

TenTen nodded slowly, but she was smiling a bit. For some reason, she felt good. She felt _really_ good…

Because…she knew something about them, that probably no one else did. _She _knew something about them…

Only…only her…

So…what did that make her…to them…?

_When something was over, it only meant one thing; something new was coming._

TenTen walked out of her math class, confused. She felt like she was floating. What the hell had just happened? Her math teacher, her fat, sweaty math teacher she'd quite numerously called "baldy" just told her that she had passed a math exam. With a C plus, but a passing grade nonetheless.

What in hell's name was this? And why couldn't she stop thinking about Sakura and Hinata?

She fisted a hand in her skirt in frustration as she pushed against the wave of students that walked to lunch. Why did she want to see them? Why did she want to tell them about her fucking C plus? It was the highest grade she could remember getting. But it wasn't that big of a deal. They wouldn't care.

But for some reason, she wanted to see their smiles…

She wanted to hear them say, _"Good job!"_

She wanted Sakura to say, _"It's because of me, Panda Bear!"_

She wanted Hinata to go over a recipe to one of her famous cakes, in honor of TenTen's achievement.

It was…it was just a C plus…But they…they'd _care_…She _knew _it…

TenTen felt something tugging on her heart. Something she hadn't felt in a long time. Something that made her smile, for real, something she hadn't _done_ in a long time. A _really_ long time…

She turned a corner, and saw something that caught her interests.

"Get out of my way." With one shove, Sakura and Hinata, who had probably been getting their lunches out of their lockers, were sent stumbling out of the way of three senior boys pushing through the hall, and slammed into the wall. Sakura, recovering, quickly checked to see if Hinata was alright, while the three boys made their way past them as if they had swatted at thin air. None of them noticed TenTen, right behind them down the hall.

Oh _hell_ no. She was _not_ there as a fucking _prop_.

She was there…she was there to protect them.

To _protect_ them.

She was there to protect Sakura and Hinata. Because they had given her a reason to live. They'd given her a C plus, a breakfast, a mother…And TenTen was going to repay them. She was going to kill whoever hurt them. She was going to hand them the paprika when they needed it. She was going to tell them that they _could_ pass that Advanced Biology exam. They were going to eat brownies for breakfast. They were going to drive to school and back home again, together, in TenTen's car, every day.

"Hey! You punks had better apologize!"

And they weren't going to wear any seatbelts.

_"Because that's the way I like it."_

xXxXx

**I'd like to thank you for all the support and constructive criticism that I've received. I've lost a ton of reviewers ever since I've changed the pairing from SasuSaku to SasuKarin, but I feel that this is only because I've improved. The pairing freaks don't matter to me. If this was a **_**real **_**story with my own **_**original characters **_**and I changed the pairings around, no one would really care, and I'm sure I'd get more positive feedback than I have been getting. So I honestly don't mind.**

**NejiTen forever, everyone! Be sure to cherish ShikaTema, SasuKarin, and ChouIno in your hearts. And remember that even a small piece of shit is better than Sakura. **_**Which means you are too**_**. :)**

**Love,**  
**Mara**


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